


Unbridled

by MT_Yami



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Equestrian, Greg is the worst, Horseback Riding, Horses, I am a horse dork ok, M/M, Mutual Pining, Showjumping AU, World Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-10-15 12:07:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 41,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10556062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MT_Yami/pseuds/MT_Yami
Summary: They went on for what seemed like forever, exchanging firsts, lasts, and worsts, the champagne glasses accumulating on their table. In a tipsy haze, Billy began watching the movement of Teddy’s lips, the deepening of his dimples when he laughed, the glint of the row of piercings down his ear.“So who was your first barn crush?”Whatever pleasant high Billy had been riding suddenly came crashing down. “Uh, well…” He glanced over at their glass collection. “You're going to have to give me something a lot harder than champagne to get that one out of me, I'm afraid.”“You're in luck.” Teddy pulled out a flask, his grin devilish. “Tequila, since you know, Mexico City and all.”Billy knew that this was a terrible idea.





	1. Mexico City, Mexico

**Author's Note:**

> Something about Billy and Teddy and men wearing breeches just made sense to me, so this is what happened. When I first heard about the Longines Global Champions Tour, I thought to myself...damn, traveling the world in all the glamour of international showjumping sounds like a sexy backdrop for a story. I know for a fact that nobody does drama quite like equestrians, so writing this AU has been a dream for me so far. 
> 
> Companion art by the truly _fantastic_ [unhealthydoctors](https://unhealthydoctors.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> Enjoy! You can also find me on [Tumblr](https://mtyami.tumblr.com/) ;p

 

 

“Okay now, take her down the line.”

_3…2…1…up!_

All Billy Maximoff could hear was Delilah’s rhythmic breathing, her hooves steadily pounding the arena dirt.

_Five strides to the next fence._

He looked up, straight between her perked white ears to the large teal-and-white striped oxer jump ahead.

_3…2…1…up!_

Billy grinned as they landed soundly on the other side of the fence and cantered away. A slow clapping came from the near side of the arena, and he was amazed that he could even pick it out amidst the chaos of the warm-up.

“How’d she look?” he yelled over the din of riders whizzing past, calling their jumps as they raced around. Billy slowed Delilah to a trot and made his way over to the rail, where his coach stood with a clipboard in his hands so stuffed with schedules and course maps that he struggled to check Billy’s start time without a sheet fluttering to the ground.

Dane Whitman bent quickly to grab the loose paper and stood again, nodding approvingly. “Billy, that was really good. Delilah seems to have her head in it today, so I think she can be done for now until it’s time for you to go in for your first round.”

Billy beamed and patted Delilah’s neck enthusiastically, and she blew out a snort with a shake of her head. The energy around him was electrifying, anticipation mounting for the first Grand Prix round of the Stark Industries Global Champions Tour. _His_ first GCT event, the first of many in the coming year.

“I still can’t believe that we’re really here.” He kicked his feet out of his stirrups and looked over his shoulder at the grandstands slowly filling with spectators, breathless with excitement. “ _Despite_ what the Chronicle says about me.”

The most recent issue of the popular weekly equestrian magazine, _The Chronicle of the Horse_ , had claimed that Billy Maximoff, grandson of Olympic showjumping legend Erik Lehnsherr and heir to the Genosha Farms equine empire, was “almost certainly going to win it all” in the most prestigious tour series of the year. The thought flattered and terrified Billy at the same time.

Dane chuckled and shook his head. “You know you shouldn’t be reading those articles. All that speculation will go to your head, and that’s the last thing I need dealing with your sorry ass all summer.” He put a hand on Delilah’s bridle to steady her as Billy hopped out of the saddle, swinging his right leg up and over until he landed on the ground with a soft grunt.

Wiccan’s Epona, or as they called her around the barn, Delilah, whickered and nudged him with a velvety nose. Billy smiled and planted a fond kiss on her cheek. He had loved his sassy Holsteiner mare from the second she stepped off of his grandfather’s trailer and into his life, barely a yearling when she was handpicked from a breeding stable in Germany by the living legend himself. Her coat was whiter now in her teens, the stormy grey color of her youth given way to only a few remaining dark dapples across her haunches and legs.

She had grown up alongside Billy, and she was without a doubt the partner that would take him all the way to the top. Showjumping was the blood that sang in his veins, but it was time to prove that he was worth all the attention for his _own_ prowess as a rider and not just as the grandchild of an Olympian. He couldn't think of a better stage to prove it on either; over the next seven months, they would be luxuriating in 15 dazzling cities around the world and going toe-to-toe with other internationally-ranked industry titans in an epic clash for reputation, fame, and over a million dollars in prize money.

_And what a fucking awesome summer it’s going to be._

“Billy, I can take her for a minute if you need to collect your thoughts.” His head groom, Cassie Lang, walked up from behind Dane and gave a small wave. “Doing okay there?” She held terribly concealed excitement in her bright blue eyes.

Billy smiled at Cassie and nodded, pulling the reins over Delilah’s head and handing them to her. “Thanks, Cass. Just a little bit nervous.”

“Don’t be. You’re going to do great. And if not…it’s just the first of many.” She squeezed his hand briefly, affectionately, and walked out of the arena with Delilah. Her thick blonde ponytail, pulled through a baseball cap in typical equestrian fashion, swished as she turned to check for oncoming traffic.

Billy followed suit, unclipping his helmet and pulling it off to rumple his damp, sweaty hair nervously. He lingered at the rail for a moment to observe the other riders flying past him, quietly absorbing the magnitude of the event at hand.

It was then that Billy caught a glimpse of _him_ , blond, broad-shouldered, with a giant child-like grin plastered across his handsome features as he sailed over the massive jumps aboard a black bay warmblood that matched him in sheer physical size. Billy knew him by name, of course, Theodore “Teddy” Altman, who had notoriously come up the levels on catch rides and pure talent alone.

_Well now I know why all the female adult amateur riders keep pictures of him in their tack lockers_ , Billy thought dryly. _That’s one hell of a smile. It’s a good thing Granddad failed to sign him on after the Maclay or I’d be in trouble._

The Chronicle had featured Teddy on the cover, along with an intimate interview, after the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships last year. Billy had first met him there, a step down on the other side of the podium. He had lost to Teddy by half a second, and by a full second to Teddy’s stablemate Greg Norris, whom Billy was not too happy to also see in the warm-up arena, astride his rangy liver chestnut Fossegrim. The Norris family operation, Pine Hollow, recruited Teddy after he had won the prestigious Maclay Final three years prior and owned Teddy’s current mount, a particularly talented young Swedish Warmblood gelding named The Incredible Hulkling.

The warm-up arena began to clear, signaling that the first round of the GCT Mexico City Grand Prix was about to begin. Suddenly Cassie was beside him again, handing him Delilah’s reins and smiling encouragingly.

“This is your year to finally win your first gold. Want a leg up?”

Billy nodded, blowing out an anxious sigh before putting a hand on the pommel of his saddle, and Cassie grabbed his knee for a boost. He wrapped his legs around Delilah’s barrel and willed himself to relax, clucking her forward towards the competition ring.

_Just listen to her. Let her do the rest._

\--

“Well cheers to you for not falling off, at least.”

Billy turned, champagne glass in hand, and caught a glimpse of white-blond hair. “Tommy. How nice of you to attend one of my shows,” he said coolly.

His brother, Tommy Maximoff, grinned his sly fox smile. “I didn't come here for you. Did you forget that Kate’s competing too?”

Billy _had_ forgotten. Tommy’s longtime off-again, on-again girlfriend Kate Bishop was part of the Genosha Farms entry to the Global Champions League team competition, one of the myriad events on the tour, but given his brother’s open dislike of horses, Billy was still surprised to see him.

“Where’s Granddad? Did he come here with you?” Billy looked around the banquet hall, his fingers tapping the stem of the glass nervously.

Tommy shook his head and shrugged. “No, but he’s here already, schmoozing with the Pine Hollow people. And Uncle Pietro.”

“Ugh, not Uncle Pietro.” Billy made a face, sticking his tongue out. His uncle had followed in his father’s footsteps with an Olympic run of his own on the Thoroughbred stallion Quicksilver, and had a tendency towards overbearing when it came to his nephew.

Tommy chuckled. “You better get over there. I'm gonna go find Kate.” He nodded towards a circle of people that vaguely looked to include his grandfather and his uncle, who had the same white-blond hair as his brother did.

Billy realized upon arrival, immediately dismayed, that the circle also happened to include Greg Norris and Teddy Altman. The latter smiled that dazzling smile at him unexpectedly when he broke their circle to greet his grandfather, and Billy pinked despite himself. For once, Erik Lehnsherr looked pleased.

“Ah, congratulations my boy! Finishing in the top ten is an excellent place to be starting your Global Champions Tour.”

Billy blinked. _Oh wow, I was pretty sure that Granddad was going to ream me for dropping that rail and finishing seventh._ Like many horses in the rounds before her, Delilah had been temporarily distracted by the large Pym Technologies logo cutouts on either side of the vertical fence and misjudged the approach—Billy hated the gaudy sponsored jumps for that reason. Despite that, it had been his mare’s well-known quickness that saved their placing even with the rail down.

“Um, thanks.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his champagne glass, the tiny bubbles rising to the top of the liquid. “I hope it means that this is Delilah’s once-per-season rail and there won’t be any more.”

A snort interrupted his drink gazing. “Or she’s just getting old and you need a new ride.” Greg Norris regarded him with unconcealed disdain. “Our syndicate’s purchased some really promising young prospects recently. You might think about getting your own soon before that old nag of yours expires. Right, Teddy?” He clapped Teddy on the back hard.

Billy thought that he saw the barest flicker of resentment cross those unusually blue eyes, but it was gone by the time the blond boy nodded.

Greg continued, “Teddy’s going to be bringing along a couple of them if this season with Hulk goes well. Obviously Pine Hollow is very committed to his success as a rider and trainer.”

Billy watched as Teddy pursed his lips, but then chuckled politely. “Yes, and I do appreciate your vote of confidence, Greg. Hulk is doing great, and I’m really proud of him today clearing that one tricky vertical that was giving everybody trouble. I think both he and Grim are going to have an awesome season.” He looked at Greg then pointedly, and the conversation lulled.

To Billy’s left, Pietro gave Greg a flat, practiced smile. “Genosha plans to entrust my talented nephew with only the best of prospects, and until such time that the right ones come along, he will keep his eye on the prize.” He looked and saw Dane over Billy’s shoulder just then, walking innocently by with a fresh glass of champagne. “Oh hello there Dane, so good to see you. I wanted to talk with you about Delilah’s—”

And with that, he grabbed Erik’s arm and stepped away, suddenly leaving Billy alone with Teddy and Greg. The latter gave him a dark look.

“Uh, yeah, I’d better go see what they’re talking about too, probably.” Billy hurried away, finishing his sentence in a mutter. But instead of walking over to where his grandfather and uncle now stood chatting animatedly with his coach, he spotted an open chair and pulled out his phone, pretending to answer some Very Important Text.

Billy ended up sitting there for a while, elbows on the white tablecloth, engrossed in watching funny cat videos on Facebook. He barely noticed when Cassie plopped down across from him.

“More champagne, sir?” She giggled and nodded knowingly as Billy gratefully accepted and promptly downed the entire glass.

“That's how I feel when I see Teddy Altman too.”

Billy sputtered. “T-that’s not—”

“Oh come on _._ Why do you think I groom for you? Now _that's_ a butt I know you like to watch over a jump.” She laughed louder as Billy turned red.

Cassie made a zipping motion over her lips and winked. “But you know my lips are sealed.”

Billy relaxed slightly. “Thanks, Cass.” He was sure of himself, but what he definitely wasn't ready for was other people knowing, or worse, _thinking_ that they knew even the first thing about him. It was bad enough being in the spotlight as it was, and he soured at the idea of the talking heads having just another aspect of him to speculate about. The only reason Cassie knew was because she had caught him gawking at a hot cowboy calendar at Rolex Kentucky one year, and even with his closest friend, it had been an exceedingly awkward discussion.

Besides, he already had higher priorities than dealing with the aftermath of coming out: riding his best this season and his teamwork with Delilah. A relationship would just complicate things. Plus, it’d be nice not to play into the “boys-who-ride-horses-are-gay” stereotype—riding just generally wasn't any more saturated in men who liked other men than any other sport. Hell, Billy would know.

“But really, it’s not about Teddy. It’s more about what Greg was saying, that Delilah is old and that I should be training babies for Granddad instead.” Billy wrinkled his nose. “I really don’t want to be doing that though. Not now, anyway. I feel like me and her are just getting started.”

Cassie nodded. “So just do you.” She shrugged and fiddled with her ponytail. “I would trust your grandfather and uncle. They know what they’re doing.”

Billy blew a raspberry into his empty champagne glass, suddenly feeling very obstinate. His eyes narrowed as he swirled the last dregs angrily. “Yeah, you know what, forget Greg, he’s a stuck up asshole and Teddy is probably more of the same—vapid, ridiculously good-looking, can’t even think for himself—”

Cassie coughed, suddenly looking down into her glass. “Um, Billy—”

“No, Cassie, I know he’s hot but you don’t get to defend him, he’s probably just as big of a fucking asshole as Greg is—”

“Hey, Billy.”

Billy froze and mouthed to Cassie, _“Teddy?”_

She gave the barest of nods.

Teddy was suddenly coming to sit down next to Cassie, and Billy was panicking.

“Um, hey Teddy. You, uh, rode really well today. Nice work on that Pym vertical.”

He gave a good-natured shrug, flashing that radiant smile once again. “It was all Hulk. After all, he's the ridiculously good-looking one out of the two of us.” His blue eyes were teasing, and Billy flushed with embarrassment.

“ _And_ that's my cue to go. Gonna head down to the barn and check on Delilah. Bye, Billy!” Cassie pushed her chair back dramatically and hurried away, her shoulders shaking with obvious giggles. Billy croaked a dry goodbye.

He cleared his threat and forced himself to make eye contact with Teddy, who was still smiling. “Listen, Teddy, what I said before...sorry. I guess I just didn't really take what Greg said super well. I'm just trying to focus on getting through the GCT with Delilah before I can even think about what the next step is. I trust my granddad and uncle to make the call.”

Teddy put up an apologetic hand. “You don't have to say any more. Greg is just getting carried away. I agreed to maybe help him with some new imports but there isn't anything set in stone. I also just want to get through this GCT season and be done with it.” He leaned forward, his cheek on his palm and his tone casual. “But this summer is going to be really fun. I hope we get to know each other better. After all, I imagine we’ll be riding in the same circles for years to come, and you can never have too many allies, right?”

Billy felt a sharp burst of butterflies in his stomach that left him slightly disoriented. _He wants to get to know me better. He wants to get to know me better._

He managed some sort of a smile. “Yeah, that sounds great to me. I'd like to get to know you better too.” _Ah, weak, weak! Way to go, Casanova._

Teddy grinned. Billy wasn't sure if he had even stopped smiling during their exchange, but he didn't mind those dimples, not one bit.

“Okay, great. Let's start now.” Teddy leaned back, a hand in his hair. A server walked by with a tray of filled glasses and he swiped two, setting one in front of Billy. “20 questions. I'm game if you are.” His blue eyes twinkled mischievously.

Billy laughed, suddenly uncomfortable. “What, now? But—”

“You and I both know this after party isn't ending anytime soon.”

Teddy was right. Knowing this crowd, they would be going well into the night. Showjumpers were a rowdy bunch. “I suppose that’s why we bring grooms for night checks,” Billy offered. “Well okay then...what topics are off-limits?”

“No limits, but I'm proposing we start from the beginning. What was the name of your first pony?”

Billy visibly relaxed. _Oh, so it's that kind of history. This I can do._ He cracked a wide, genuine smile.

“Butterball, a palomino Shetland. He was such an insufferable piece of shit. Must have bucked me off every day when I was a little kid until I graduated to a large pony. And you?”

Teddy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “My first pony...was a camp pony. Camp Heartland was where my mom would send me in the summers to get me out of her hair. I was maybe like...first grade? Not sure. I think the first camp pony I got assigned was Wilma. She was all mine for six weeks and I loved it. Especially swimming in the pond with her. I wonder where she is now, or if she's even still alive.” He looked down at his napkin. “You know I've never owned my own horse.”

“Well now we’re just skipping questions, aren't we?” Billy cocked his head, a half-grin on his face. He had known that Teddy relied on catch rides to move up the levels, and plenty of people couldn't afford the caliber of show horse you needed to do it on your own. He hadn't known that Teddy had literally never owned his own, _ever._

Teddy laughed. “Yes, you're right. Silly me. It's your turn now.”

Billy tapped the tip of his nose. “Hmmm. When was the first time you fell off?”

“End of camp horse show in third grade. My pony that year had a super bouncy trot and I sort of just...slid off the side.”

“Ha! And they call _you_ the natural talent.” Billy's laugh was genuine.

Teddy gave him a challenging look. “Oh yeah? Well, what was yours?”

“Butterball launched me, I think. It was such a long time ago and I was so small that I really don't remember the details, but if I were a betting man, I would bet it was Butterball.”

They went on for what seemed like forever, exchanging firsts, lasts, and worsts, the champagne glasses accumulating on their table. In a tipsy haze, Billy began watching the movement of Teddy’s lips, the deepening of his dimples when he laughed, the glint of the row of piercings down his ear.

“So who was your first barn crush?”

Whatever pleasant high Billy had been riding suddenly came crashing down. “Uh, well…” He glanced over at their glass collection. “You're going to have to give me something a lot harder than champagne to get that one out of me, I'm afraid.”

“You're in luck.” Teddy pulled out a flask, his grin devilish. “Tequila, since you know, Mexico City and all.”

Billy knew that this was a terrible idea.

Teddy handed him a capful, and they both took a shot. “Well? I'm waiting.”

The tequila burned warm on its way down, but Billy's palms were cold with sweat. “Well, uh. Not many people my age really came through our barn when I was growing up. Mostly adult riders and big shots, you know. I guess if I really had to choose, my first barn crush was Delilah. She was the prettiest damn filly you ever saw walk through those doors.” _Phew. Copout time._

Teddy looked visibly disappointed. “Oh come on, seriously? That definitely did not answer the question.”

“Well, tell me yours first.” Billy couldn’t hide his interest— _wait, what am I expecting him to say?_ —and leaned forward across the table.

The blond’s face stormed over in thought, his mouth almost a frown. “Huh. Probably also a camp thing. Jess Ramos. Yeah, definitely Jess. Probably the only other rider at camp who could give me a run for my money.”

Billy wrung his hands anxiously. _Jess? Girl Jess? Boy Jess?_ “Yeah? Did Jess ever fall off at the sitting trot?” He laughed a little, despite himself.

Teddy shook his head, now smiling, clearly lost in the memory. “No, definitely not. He was a really good rider. Probably like, a jockey now.”

The silence that opened up between them was palpable.

He frowned at Billy’s frantically averted eyes. “Um. I mean...she?” Teddy cleared his throat loudly, his ears turning pink. “She.”

“Oh, um, yeah. Well, clearly, the sitting trot champion.” Billy searched Teddy’s face, but the blond boy refused to make eye contact.

It seemed like forever before Teddy spoke again. Billy’s stomach lurched. What _had_ he been hoping for?

“...please don't say anything to Greg.” The small voice that came from him was almost unrecognizable.

Billy held up his hands and waved them vigorously. “Hey, dude, no worries. We definitely had too much to drink tonight, I'm not going to remember this conversation tomorrow, I don’t even remember what you said just now, honestly.” He was babbling, but Teddy was giving him a grateful smile and that was all that mattered. Billy sucked in a deep breath.

“But yeah, I think I'm actually going to head down to the barn now and check on Delilah before Ubering back to the hotel...you gonna be okay?”

Teddy nodded. “Yeah, thanks. I'll get a ride with Greg later, give myself some time to sober up some.” He fumbled in his pocket then, hesitating. “Hey, uh, do you maybe want to hang out sometime? I mean, I know we’re going to see each other a lot this summer on the tour, obviously, but uh, yeah…” He trailed off awkwardly and just shrugged.

Something akin to an alarm went off in Billy’s mind and he reminded himself to breathe amid the pounding in his ears. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He slid his phone across the table to Teddy. “I'll text you back—don't worry about trying to find your phone now, heh.”

“I'll hold you to it.” Their fingers brushed lightly as Teddy handed him his phone and Billy felt like he was on fire. “Good night.”

“Good night, Teddy.”

\--

Billy barely made it to stabling without stumbling over himself, despite the fact that it was the adjacent building to the banquet hall. He quickly found Delilah’s stall along the long row and slid in next to her, resting his cheek against her warm shoulder.

She craned her neck over, whuffing in his hair before resuming munching her hay.

“What fresh hell have I gotten myself into, girl?”

Delilah kept munching without pause.

“Billy? Is that you?”

Billy jumped. “Oh my fucking God, Cass, you scared the shit out of me.”

“Had a little too much to drink, haven’t we?” She poked her head into the stall, a piece of hay sticking up out of her hair and a teasing grin on her face. “So? Did you get to talk to loverboy?”

“Yeah, for most of the night, actually.” Billy smiled, remembering their exchange. He fiddled with the dark grey curlicues of Delilah’s mane, finally released from the tight braids of the weekend. “It was...good. Yeah, it was good.”

Cassie leaned across the door and pinched his arm. It was not a good sign to Billy that he barely felt it, be it from the alcohol or from his own giddiness. “Ha! I knew it. You're going to be the Chronicle’s hot new couple before you know it!”

“Jesus, Cass, he doesn't even know I'm gay.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Is _he_...?”

“I don't know.” Cassie’s eyes widened and Billy put up a hand. “Okay yeah, he said something about having a crush on someone named Jess, and it was a boy Jess, at least I thought so because he said it was a _he_ and then seemed super embarrassed about it? But we were drinking so maybe he just slipped and it really was a girl? I'm not sure. Definitely not sure enough to make a move.”

Cassie’s interest was piqued. “Okay, well, what else did he say?”

“He wants to ‘hang out sometime’?” Billy made air quotations with his fingers, a skeptical look on his face. Cassie barked out a laugh, which startled Delilah, and the mare grumpily moved to the back of her stall, tail swishing.

“What did you say? ‘Oh yes, Teddy Altman, please sweep me off of my feet during this tour of the world’s most romantic cities’?” She laughed and narrowly avoided a handful of carrot pieces to the face. “Man, you know they write romance novels about this shit.”

“I swear to God, Cassie—”

She interrupted him, picking the carrots up off the ground and giving them to Delilah to sniff. “Oh, and when we get home, Pine Hollow’s in Westchester, right? North Salem? We’re practically neighbors! Sounds like you’ve got happily ever after in the bag, Billy.”

“He didn’t _propose_ to me, he just gave me his phone number.”

“So...you’re going to call him. Because I will kill you dead if you don’t.” Another handful of carrots ended up hitting Cassie on the shoulder and she made an indignant noise. “No, seriously! This is your chance! What have you got to lose?”

“Nothing, I guess.” Holding his palm flat, Billy let Delilah lip the last bit of carrot off of his hand. “Something just feels weird about it though. He got kind of freaked out after the maybe-slip and really didn’t want me to tell Greg about it.” He gave a short, sardonic laugh. “Yeah, as if I would say anything to that guy about _anything_.”

“Does it really surprise you that Greg is probably a raging homophobe?” Cassie picked the carrot off of her shirt and made a face.

“No, not really at all.” Billy sighed and rubbed his face vigorously with his hands. “Ugh, why is this so hard?”

Cassie shrugged. “Boy, you’re the one making it hard. I’m heading to bed. Are you coming? Or are you going to pick at her mane for the next three hours like you usually do after weird shit happens to you?”

“You know me so well, Cass.” Billy blew her a kiss and shook his head, smiling. _What would I ever do without you?_ “See you tomorrow.”

\--

Teddy looked down at his phone, which he had finally managed to fish out of his pocket. _Not even a text to give me your number back, huh._

It had been a long shot, he knew. _Guess my gay-dar is broken. I’m so bad at this._ He ran a palm through his thick blond hair and shook his head.

He glanced over to where Greg now had his arm wrapped around Kitty Pryde. Their heads close together, Teddy could hear her squeals of protest as Greg’s hands began to roam, and he looked away in disgust.

When Todd Norris approached him at the Maclay Final, he had still been delirious, drunk on his victory. Greg had been keeping tabs on him throughout that season, and reported back to his father that Teddy would be the perfect rider for their new import. The gold medal still warm from where it sat on his chest, he had been offered Hulk and a place on their competition team on the spot—the promise of a future with Pine Hollow, whatever support he needed, a string of horses to bring along as his own. One look at the tears on his mother’s face, and he knew that it was an offer that he couldn't refuse.

Unfortunately, the position came with one glaring flaw—Greg.

Teddy got up from the table hastily and looked over at his stablemate again. He and Kitty were making their way to the door, and her giggles cut across the dulling commotion of the party. _Well, there goes my ride home, I guess. Might as well go check on Hulk while I’m stuck here._

He had maybe thought about Greg _that_ way, when he was coming up the levels. Dark-haired, tall, good-looking Greg Norris was the equestrian world’s current golden boy. He had real talent and a wholesome public image that Teddy had no idea how he upheld, given his hopeless womanizing habit and his stark rudeness to other competitors. But as far as the rest of the world was concerned, Greg was the relatable, friendly everyman, the complete opposite of Billy Maximoff, who had been born into equestrian royalty, untouchable, anointed.

_If only they knew the truth about you._

It was a cool night in Mexico City. Teddy swallowed and popped his ears. The altitude had been difficult for him to adjust to, and admittedly, he had felt pretty sick aboard Hulk’s huge rocking canter. It hadn’t seemed to bother his horse at all though, so Teddy had done what he always did: change to fit the situation. The trainers at Pine Hollow jokingly called him a shapeshifter for how easily he could adjust his style to each horse he sat on, in whatever new scenario, no matter their reaction. It was what had always made him a good rider.

Before he knew it, he found himself at stabling. Teddy was surprised to find the lights still on in Barn C, and he poked his head through the wide doorway cautiously.

“Hey, who’s still in here?”

He heard a metallic clang, and someone yelped. A horse down the row started whinnying, and a chorus of cries rose up along the stalls.

_“Goddammit!”_

Teddy rushed down the aisle, startling half the horses as he ran by, until he reached the stall that was the source of the noise.

“Oh my God are you okay—”

Billy stood in the middle of the stall, rubbing his head gingerly. Delilah’s feed bucket sat overturned by the door, and she was picking remnants of her dinner out of the stall shavings at Billy’s feet.

Teddy couldn’t help but laugh. “What the hell happened here?”

“Well, _you_ , sort of.” Billy huffed, gesturing helplessly at the overturned bucket. “I was sitting under it, just hanging out and thinking, you know...then suddenly you’re yelling into the barn and I freaked out.” He frowned, touching the top of his head again. “Hit my head, it fucking hurt.”

Billy grumpily flung the stall door open with a bang. Delilah snorted and nudged him forcefully with her nose, and he tripped over her feed bucket, fell out of the stall and hit Teddy’s chest with a bodily thump.

“Careful, there.” Teddy instinctively wrapped his arms around the smaller boy to support him, keenly aware of Billy’s warm breath against his neck. “You okay?” He could see that the tops of Billy’s ears had turned bright red, and electricity crackled where their skin touched. They lingered for a moment too long until Billy hastily brushed him off.

“I’m fine. You just took me by surprise is all. I thought you were going back with Greg?” His dark eyes were soft despite his scolding tone.

Teddy shrugged. “He had other plans. I figured I would check on Hulk, but I didn’t think you’d still be here.”

“Cassie did night check on Delilah earlier. It sounds dumb, but sometimes I just like to sit with her and think about stuff. She’s a good listener.” Billy reached over the door and patted Delilah’s neck. She whuffed in response.

Teddy nodded. “I get that.” He bent down and picked up the feed bucket, turning it over in his hands. Billy took it from him and went back into the stall to hang it on the corner once more.

“Oh, uh, you didn’t send me your number back.”

“What?”

Billy looked up at him. Teddy couldn’t read his expression, as hard as he tried.

“After I gave you my number, you didn’t text me yours or anything...God, I sound pretty desperate right now, huh?” He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, despite himself. “Look, I don’t really have a whole lot of friends in this business yet, and you seem pretty cool, so I was just hoping you’d want to be friends.”

Billy’s expression grew even more unreadable then, Teddy decided. _He looked upset when I slipped about Jess, and now he looks upset that I’m suggesting friendship. Is this guy a homophobe or what?_

The dark-haired boy shook his head, suddenly smiling, and took his phone out of his back pocket. “Oh right, I’m sorry, when I first got down here I got caught up talking to Cass and I just totally forgot.” His thumbs moved like lightning across the screen and Teddy’s phone pinged. “That’s me.”

Teddy looked down at his phone and grinned. “Awesome. I’m gonna head down to Hulk’s stall real quick and then call an Uber, do you want to ride back to the hotel with me, maybe?” His tone was hopeful, maybe too much so.

Billy paused, seemingly to think about it. He chewed his bottom lip as he did so and Teddy’s stomach flip-flopped, unable to take his eyes away.

“Nah, I think I’m good,” he said finally. Teddy scolded himself for his own disappointment. _Setting yourself up for failure here, Teddy._

“Sorry, I just want to take my time checking on her stuff before we head out tomorrow.” Billy’s eyes were apologetic, and he stuck out his hand brightly for a shake. “See you in Miami though? I’m sure we’ll find some time to hang.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” When Teddy clasped Billy’s hand, he felt an unexpected warmth spread all throughout his body. “Miami it is.”


	2. Miami Beach, FL, USA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What started out as innocent beachside flirtation goes awry and Billy makes an enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I agonized over this chapter right along with Billy, but there comes a point where you just have to stop nitpicking and release it into the wild. Angst! You get an angst! And you get an angst! Everybody gets an angst! *throws angst confetti*

“ _Friends_! He said he wanted to be friends.” Billy looked glumly over at Cassie, who was measuring out Delilah’s supplements into her feed bucket. “You were totally wrong.”

Cassie didn’t turn to look at him, carefully checking over the laminated supplement list posted on the wall, a filled scoop in her hand. “A dude who just wants to be your friend doesn’t get upset when you don’t text back your number. Trust me. And usually,” she reached across his slumped body for the container of joint supplements, “the best of relationships come out of trying to actually get to know someone. You know, like friends do.”

“He said we should do something together in the couple days before the show starts. Is that a friend thing? Or a _something?”_

Cassie gave him an irate look. “Are you going to sit there and whine all day or are you going to let me do my job? We’re in Miami Beach. Just plan a beach day and invite other people if you're so worried about it. You know _everyone_ here.”

She walked over to Delilah’s stall and the mare came to the door, nickering loudly for her food. Billy stuck out his bottom lip and pulled out his phone, frowning. “Who would I even invite though?”

“For crying out loud, Billy, I am going to smack you. What about Kate and Tommy? Eli? Literally anyone from our barn?”

“...Nate? How about Nate?” Billy wiggled his eyebrows. Cassie visibly stiffened and he burst out laughing. “That’s what I thought.”

Cassie had had a crush on their stablemate Nathaniel Richards for as long as Billy could remember. Nate served as a groom for Pietro Maximoff during his Olympic run and was finally breaking into international showjumping himself, competing in some of the smaller classes at GCT Miami Beach with his young horse Kang the Conqueror. He had made his way down to Florida with Genosha Farms’ second string of horses the day before.

“Who says I'm coming to the beach?” Cassie scoffed, but the smile she tried to hide said otherwise.

Billy opened his text app and started entering people from his address book. The last name he entered sparked butterflies and he tittered nervously.  

> **To: Evil Twin, Cass Lang, Nate Richards, Eli Bradley, Kate Bishop, Teddy Altman**
> 
> Beach day tomorrow?

“Did you just text Teddy? Is that the noise you always make when you text him?”

Billy shot her a warning look. “Hey, remember the time that Nate stopped your runaway pony and you told me that you were going to marry him? How old were we, Cass? Ten? Eleven?”

She pinched him until he yelped. Billy’s phone pinged three times. 

> _Evil Twin_
> 
> Let's do eeeetttt
> 
> _Kate Bishop_
> 
> With Tommy rn not sure y he didn't answer for me too but yeah I'm down
> 
> _Eli Bradley_
> 
> Yaaaasssss

“Cass, what if he doesn't respond?” Billy whined, grabbing Cassie’s shoulder in mock drama.

She whacked him on the chest. “Shut up and get out of here! I don't want to see you back in the barn until we exercise the horses tonight, you hear?”

Billy clutched his chest as if wounded and Cassie literally chased him out of the barn. Once out of her sight, he pulled out his phone mid-ping.

> _Cass Lang_
> 
> No
> 
> _Nate Richards_
> 
> Come on Cass, live a little. I'll be there!
> 
> _Cass Lang_
> 
> Ugh fine

“Come on, come on,” Billy chanted at his phone.

“Billy!”

He turned and saw Dane heading straight for him, waving the course packet frantically.

“Great, I found you! Do you have a minute to look at the courses for the weekend with me? They look pretty straightforward and we won't know exactly how they'll ride until we walk them, but maybe worth coming up with a preliminary game plan?” Dane was always an overzealous planner, but somehow, it worked for Billy.

He sighed, dropping his phone into his pocket. “Yeah, sounds good. Not sure what else I'm going to do with my evening.”

“Oh, don't make it sound so bad.” Dane chuckled. “Got anything planned for after horse inspection tomorrow?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the afternoon is mostly free so I figured you kids were going to go do something fun. Since we’re in Miami, you know.”

Billy’s phone pinged then and he fished it out hurriedly. “Yeah, I'm planning a beach day. I think it'll be—”

> _Teddy Altman_
> 
> Count me in :)

“Awesome. It's going to be awesome.” Billy grinned widely, the butterflies returned. “Let's get to those courses, shall we?”

\--

“This is Billy Maximoff and Wiccan’s Epona.”

Billy clucked Delilah forward into a sprightly trot and ran her down the length of the gravel walkway.

“And bring her back down please.”

She trotted happily beside him, head up and ears perked. A row of tight braids dotted her raised neck, Cassie’s expert handiwork.

The steward nodded as they came to a stop in front of him. “All right Billy, she's good to compete this weekend.”

“Thanks!” Billy patted her neck, conscious of the taut muscle beneath. She was in fighting shape, the best she had ever looked. He had a good feeling about Miami Beach.

He handed her to Cassie, who promptly walked her back to stabling. Nate Richards laid a hand on his shoulder, Kang’s reins balled up in the other. The tall chestnut gelding stood quietly by his rider’s side, despite his youth.

“Hard part of today is over for you! Ready to pop open some brewskis on the beach?”

Billy grinned. “Yeah, definitely. I don't compete in anything until the first round of Global Champions League late in the day tomorrow so I'm ready to breathe a little.”

He caught a glimpse of Teddy watching Greg trot up Grim for horse inspection. Teddy smiled and half waved when they made eye contact, and Billy waved back, looking away quickly in embarrassment.

Nate followed the line of his gaze and nodded somberly. “Norris and Fossegrim look strong this year.”

“They're the other favorites, after all.” Billy shrugged. “It's early still in the GCT to tell anything. He could go down in flames for all we know.” _And I hope he does, it'd serve him right._

What Billy knew of Greg was mostly hearsay, but what he did hear certainly wasn't good. He was a sore loser and a womanizer, despite the wholesome face Pine Hollow showed to the public. Billy was fairly sure that there was very, very little reason to like Greg.

“I'm up soon, see you in a bit?” Nate clucked Kang along and the large gelding groaned before moving.

“Kang’s awfully lazy for a baby, huh?” Cassie appeared next to him suddenly, and Billy jumped.

“Could you stop _doing_ that?”

She ignored him. “Delilah settled back into her stall fine and I took her braids out. What time are we going to go hang out at the beach?”

“Maybe around 3? I think all the inspections will be over by then. We should go back to the hotel and—”

_“LOOSE HORSE!”_

Billy was cut off by the yells that had risen up from the inspection lane. He turned and immediately saw Kang, his reins fluttering in the wind, racing as fast as he could towards him. Out of pure instinct, Billy jumped out in front of him with his arms wide and waving, trying to make himself as big as possible.

“Whoa there big boy, whoa, whoa!” _Please stop, please stop. Why isn’t he stopping?_

Wild-eyed, Kang thundered towards him undeterred.

“Billy, watch out!” He was suddenly shoved to the ground and Teddy was there, the big chestnut rushing harmlessly past them.

“Are you okay?” Teddy looked down and offered his hand.

Billy nodded and allowed Teddy to pull him up to his feet, feeling dizzy. “Just a little dazed is all.” _Not sure if that’s Kang’s or your fault._ "Fucking Thoroughbreds don't know the appropriate response to a person waving their arms at them. What could have possibly gotten into him?”

“Not sure, but you picked a bad time to get into the shortest path between him and the barn, clearly.” Teddy laughed, sounding relieved. “I'm just glad you're okay.”

Billy looked up at their stabling barn and saw Erik Lehnsherr in the doorway, Kang’s reins firmly in one hand, his face hard as steel.

“Nate’s going to need a lot of beers at the beach to get past the tongue-lashing he's about to get.” Billy knew his grandfather’s wrath well. “Even if Kang is usually super quiet he should know better than to take a young Thoroughbred out in a new place without a chain over his nose.”

Teddy winced. “Erik Lehnsherr definitely doesn't seem like he tolerates imperfection in his kingdom. What do you say we get out of here? I'll give you a ride back to the hotel if you want.”

“Ah, I should probably go talk to Granddad and mediate this whole thing with Nate.” Billy’s tone was apologetic. “I'll see you later today though, right?”

The blond boy smiled brightly. “Of course, I wouldn't miss it. See you in a bit.” Teddy touched Billy’s shoulder and he felt that sharp dizziness again. _Definitely not Kang’s fault. Definitely Teddy’s._

He watched Teddy walk back up to Pine Hollow’s stabling and then sighed, turning back to see Nate approach Erik very sheepishly.

“Granddad, wait!” Against his better judgment, Billy jogged up to them and braced for impact.

\--

“You owe me bigtime, Richards.”

Nate handed Billy a cold can of beer with a deep bow. “You're damn right I do, and here's the first installment of my debt.”

Billy’s phone pinged and he pulled it out of his swim trunks hastily. _This better not be Teddy canceling_ —

> _Eli Bradley_
> 
> Can’t make it after all, Patriot just blew that hoof abscess so I'm having the vet out to see if he’s going to be sound enough to do a late inspection with the stewards. Drink a cold one for me

_Whew._ “Eli’s not going to make it,” he announced to their small circle of towels.

“Boooo,” said Tommy, who was draped across Kate’s lap belly down, sand everywhere. A small collection of beer cans already littered their towel.

Cassie fished a beer out of the cooler and wrinkled her nose at Nate. “What even happened with Kang today? I’ve never seen him like that before.”

“Honestly, I have no idea.” Nate shrugged. “He was standing so quietly one minute and the next he was off like a shot. I barely had time to process the fact that he had even left.”

“Are you still taking him in the 1.35m round tomorrow? Or did Erik pull the plug?”

Nate winced, running a hand through his hair with a deep sigh. “Thankfully, we’re still allowed to compete in all the events we planned for, but I got a very stern talking to.”

“Don’t forget you have me to thank for still being able to compete him at all this weekend,” Billy quipped, a grin on his face. “You’re welcome. You know I hate talking to Granddad when he’s like that.”

“You’re also the _only_ person who can talk to Granddad when he’s like that,” Tommy snickered.

Billy quirked an eyebrow at him and scoffed. “Yeah well, that's because I didn’t use up all of my get-out-of-jail-free cards with him before I even graduated high school, unlike _someone_ I know.”

“Face me like a man, Billy Maximoff!” Tommy hoisted himself to a kneeling position and scrambled off of Kate’s lap, kicking sand up into her open container of strawberry poppyseed salad.

It was in that moment that Teddy decided to show up, waving apologetically. “Hey guys, sorry I'm late. What'd I miss?”

“Dammit, Tommy, my fucking salad!”

“That’s what you get for eating salad at the damn beach!”

Billy laughed, his eyes gleeful as he approached Teddy with a beer. “My brother’s drunk already, got sand in Kate’s salad...yeah, not much. Welcome.” He smiled warmly and offered the can. “You're gonna need this.”

Teddy looked _good._ The golden tan he picked up in Mexico City offset the sun-bleach of his blond hair and accentuated the unusual blue of his eyes. His lean, muscular body betrayed long hours of working outdoors every day; those _shoulders_ and _thighs_ in particular drew Billy’s gaze, and he took a swig of his beer to quickly hide his interest.

“Thanks.” Teddy beamed and accepted the cold beverage. “So, who's all here? I feel like I know these faces but names would be nice.”

“Ah, well, you know Cass, right? Cassie Lang, my head groom. My brother Tommy, his girlfriend Kate Bishop. Oh, and that's Nate Richards over there, the asshole with the runaway horse earlier today.” Nate flipped him the bird and Billy shrugged, laughing. “Guys, this is Teddy Altman.”

A chorus of “hi’s” arose and Billy was amused to see Teddy’s overly pleased expression in response. It was like watching a child enter a kindergarten classroom for the first time.

Nate walked over and clasped Teddy’s hand affably. “Oh hey man, it's nice to finally meet you. You do some really good work out there, with Hulk, is it?”

Teddy nodded. “Yeah, he's the one. Big lazy but one hell of a powerhouse.”

Nate chuckled wryly. “That's sort of what I'm hoping for from Kang once he gets over his baby moments.”

“Yeah, that was a little bit of a mess this morning, huh? Glad everyone is okay though.”

Tommy turned his attention away from the salad and waved at Teddy. “Hey bro, welcome.” He looked back at Billy then, stuck out his tongue, and took off running. “Last one in the water has to ride back to New York with Uncle Pietro!”

“Hey wait now that is not fair—”

Billy sped into the water after Tommy and tackled him, and soon they were a shrieking tangle of brotherly limbs. Kate stood at the edge of the water with her arms akimbo, shaking her head at them.

Tommy gasped and sputtered out a mouthful of seawater. “Get in the water!” He grabbed Kate’s leg and dragged her in as she half-screamed, half-laughed her protest.

Nate raised an eyebrow and looked at Teddy. “When in Rome…?”

“We’re not in Rome just yet,” Teddy said gamely. “But it's going to be awesome when we get there.” They both laughed and went to join the splashing melee in the water.

\--

The sun was beginning to set when Billy escaped evil twin water torture for the nth time and jogged back up the beach to Teddy, his dark hair dripping saltwater into his face. He shook vigorously and Teddy laughed, pushing him away.

“Oh come on man, I just got dry,” he protested, but his eyes were kind.

“Water’s great, just wanted to share some with my newest friend.” Billy batted his eyelashes and plopped down on the towel next to him.

“So,” Teddy nodded towards Tommy’s screeching figure in the water, “does your brother ride too?”

“Tommy?” Billy shook his head. “Oh, no. Tommy doesn't like horses. He says they're for chicks and gay dudes only, but I actually think he's secretly afraid of them.” He laughed dryly. “Maybe he says that just to rib me, I don't know.”

“What do you mean by tha—OUCH!”

Teddy was cut off abruptly by a beach ball square to the face. Kate waved in apology.

“Get back over here, losers!”

Billy laughed. “Oh my God, I think they're going to play chicken. Looks like Nate even managed to convince Cassie.”

“So you and Cassie, is that like a thing?” Teddy gave him a sidelong glance and leaned back, shifting the sand beneath them.

Billy was so shocked that the laugh that came out of him then was half choke. “Oh, wow, definitely not.” The look on Teddy’s face compelled him to qualify. “Cass and I are best friends. We grew up riding together and she's been my head groom ever since I started showing on the AA-circuit. She's practically my sister, so no.” _And she’s not really my type, so to speak,_ he wanted to add.

“Why do you ask, you interested?” Billy turned to face him, cheek resting on a sandy hand.

Teddy shook his head a little too vigorously. “No, she's uh, not really my type. Just curious is all. Getting to know your people, you know?” He flashed a smile and Billy wanted to just lean over and kiss those dimples.

“They're good people. Kate’s fairly new to our barn but Nate’s been riding with us a long time. Eli, too, you've seen him around the GCT I'm sure. He had to deal with some vetting issues today with his horse Patriot and couldn't make it.” Billy brushed sand off of his cheek with his other hand. “It's high-pressure at Genosha no matter how you slice it but these guys help make it more bearable for sure.”

Teddy nodded solemnly. “Yeah, wish I could say the same of Pine Hollow.”

“Sounds like you've got the run of the place though, if the Chronicle can be believed?”

The blond boy shrugged. “It's hard to describe. Todd is generally pretty willing to let me do what I want but Greg is a little more…”

“Controlling?” Billy offered, then pinked immediately. “Sorry. That probably crossed a line.”

Teddy shook his head. “Not really. It's spot on. Greg likes to have a hand in everything that goes on at Pine Hollow. Including anything to do with me.”

“So how does he feel about you being here with us?” Billy smiled teasingly. “No rules about fraternizing with the enemy?”

“I don't want to be enemies with you.” Teddy held Billy’s gaze for a moment, sending delicious shivers down the dark-haired boy’s spine. They leaned into each other unconsciously, Billy's shoulder just touching Teddy’s. He was close enough to smell faint cologne mixed with sea salt.

_It could be good just like this,_ Billy thought. _I don't have to want more than this._

Teddy turned to look at him again, his handsome face backlit by the setting sun.

“Hey, Billy,” he murmured.

Billy couldn't tear his eyes away from Teddy’s face, so uncomfortably and blissfully close to his own that their breaths mingled.

“Thank you. I, um, I really needed this.”

Billy was hoping fervently that the burning in his cheeks wasn't as visible as it felt. He swallowed hard and smiled.

“Happy to help, anytime.”

Was it just him, or did Teddy lean in closer?

A sudden loud ringing startled them both. Teddy cursed under his breath and pulled out his phone, apologizing.

“Fuck, it’s Greg. Sorry, I need to take this.”

The pang of disappointment that Billy felt as Teddy got up and walked a fair distance away surprised him; it almost tasted like jealousy. He got a sinking feeling as he saw Teddy frown and look over at him, his voice inaudible in the warm breeze.

Teddy jogged back to where Billy was sitting then, an apologetic look on his face. “Hey, I'm really sorry about this but I gotta jet. Greg needs me back at stabling. Something about one of the young horses we brought for tomorrow.”

Billy forced himself to nod and smile. “I understand. It was nice to see you.”

“I'll make it up to you,” Teddy promised. “See you tomorrow right?”

“Yeah. Nate’s competing Kang in the morning so I'll be around the venue early.”

Teddy grabbed Billy’s hand and squeezed it briefly. “Good. Can't wait. I'll text you!”

The only emotion Billy could comprehend was confusion as he watched Teddy bid his goodbyes to everyone at the waterfront. When he finally left, Cassie nestled her way onto the towel beside him.

“That bad, huh.”

Billy nodded. “Worse.”

\--

In the morning, Billy came across Teddy in stabling, giving Hulk his breakfast. He paused for a moment in the aisle, watching the early rays cast shadows on Teddy’s strong arms as he dumped grain into the feed bucket.

GCT Miami Beach was a fan favorite due to its location, a vast beachfront sand arena where you could line up the perfect snapshot of where the blue water met the sky in the view between your horse’s ears. Passersby in vacation wear could simultaneously stroll the boardwalk and watch creatures muscled within an inch of their lives coil and uncoil over obstacles taller than their hatted heads.

“Did you get a chance to look at the arena yet today? It’s beautiful,” Billy said quietly, amidst the steady chewing of horses breaking their fast and seagulls crying overhead. Most of the horses and riders in the first event of the day were already in the warm-up, but he was still surprised to find that they were the only ones in the barn.

“Hey, Billy.” Teddy spotted him and grinned, patting Hulk heartily on the neck. “I did. I can’t believe the ocean is so blue, and we can see so much of it from the arena! It’s almost distracting.” He laughed, the sea breeze rolling down the barn aisle and ruffling his hair. “Not sure how I feel about competing on the sand though. I’ve maybe had enough of sand for a little while after yesterday.”

Billy grimaced. “Tommy is a literal manchild. I’m so sorry about him.”

“Oh, he’s a fun guy. Although now I can see where all the ‘fun guy’ genes were allocated in the womb. I guess there just weren’t any left for you after Tommy formed.” Teddy’s blue eyes were teasing.

“So you think I’m a wet blanket, do you?” Billy laughed and ducked under the stall guard to give Teddy a light shove. “I dare you to say that again, Teddy Altman.” The blond boy fell backwards into Hulk’s side, and the gentle giant nickered, craning his neck to look at them inquisitively.

“You are the most saturated blanket that ever attempted to play beach volleyball.” When Teddy punched Billy’s shoulder in retaliation, Hulk swung his massive hindquarters and pinned them both against the wall of his stall.

“Whoa, Hulk! Easy!” Teddy yelped in surprise, but his expression held no fear.

Billy laughed. “I think that’s Hulk’s way of saying that he doesn’t want us roughhousing in here with him.”

It dawned on him then that he was pressed close to Teddy’s chest, trapped between the wall of Hulk’s flank and the literal wall. They lingered silently for a moment, breathing near synchronized with the heaving of Hulk’s side, Billy’s body burning from the thrilling, almost-familiar proximity to Teddy.

“You know,” Billy murmured, his voice thick, “you could just push on his hip and he’ll probably move back over.” Teddy’s knee pressed between his thighs, accidental and arousing all at once, and he was thankful that he wasn’t wearing breeches yet that day. Skin tight pants as a required uniform in this business suddenly struck him as a terrible oversight _._

Teddy shrugged, his smile suggestive. “Seems rude.”

“You know what they say about maintaining discipline over an animal that weighs ten times more than you,” Billy joked weakly. “...you should do it.”

“Oh, so you're an expert now.” Teddy looked down at him through thick lashes, forehead barely brushing Billy’s, a calloused hand gently tipping his chin upwards.

Billy's breath caught and his eyes fluttered shut. _Oh my God he's going to kiss me, I am literally going to get kissed by the hottest guy I've ever seen right the fuck now_ —

“Oi, Teddy! Are you in here? I need you to warm up Prodigy for David before the 1.10m two phase round. He's being a total shithead in there right now. Where the fuck are you?”

Teddy recoiled and dropped his hand as if stung. Hulk side-stepped away from them towards the source of the noise, neighing agitatedly. The blond boy ducked under the stall guard and into the aisle before Billy could even register his crushing disappointment.

“Greg? Yeah. Uh, give me a second, I'll be right there.”

Teddy looked back at Billy through the bars of the stall, his face still flushed. He mouthed, “I'm sorry,” and made a texting gesture with his thumbs. With that, he rushed out of the barn, leaving Billy alone with a terrible pang in his chest.

The rest of the day paled in comparison to the excitement of the morning. Most of it was wrapped up in young horse events, which meant all hands on deck for the Genosha staff. Billy barely saw Teddy again until he and Delilah entered the warm-up ring in the late afternoon for the first round of the Global Champions League team and individual competition.

Teddy blew past him on Hulk and stuck out his tongue, calling, “Check out this view, huh?”

“You mean overly tanned people and seaweed?” Billy chuckled. Delilah danced in place as he pulled out his phone and took a video. Random vacationers stopped at the arena rail to watch and take pictures, rows of aqua blue beach chairs and umbrellas the only separation between them and the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

He tucked his phone back into his boot and kissed Delilah up into a swinging canter, feeling her stride adjust to the deep sand. Seeing Teddy fly over a small warm-up fence effortlessly gave him an unfamiliar nervousness.

_Don’t let him distract you. You cannot possibly care what he thinks about your performance. This is just a warm-up for the real deal._ Eli Bradley and Kate Bishop were representing Genosha Farms in the team competition, while Billy was just looking to ready Delilah for the Grand Prix qualifier on Saturday. Pressure was off for him, at least for today.

Eli and his sleek blood bay gelding Patriot came up beside them then, matching them stride for stride. Billy cracked a wide smile at the sight of them. “Glad to see that old nag in working order. Ready to kick butt, Team Genosha?”

“Yeah, hopefully that nasty abscess is a thing of the past, but you never know with this dude.” Eli gave him a wry look and nodded. "Good luck to you both!” He surged forward then, as the loudspeakers began to blare.

“Hold on to your beach umbrellas, we’re about to kick off the first round of the Global Champions League team competition here at Miami Beach, and the competition is fierce! First in the ring is Loki Laufeyson for Team Pine Hollow, riding Frost Giant.”

Kate pulled up Hawkeye next to Billy. “Hey man, no pressure right?”

“If you don't kick Loki’s ass I'm going to disown you as my almost-sister,” Billy teased. “But seriously, you got this. No pressure.”

“Clear round for Loki Laufeyson and Frost Giant. Next in the ring is Katherine Bishop for Team Genosha Farms, riding Hawkeye.”

With a wink, Kate urged her dark bay gelding forward. “That's me. Break a leg.” Then she was gone, and the pressure was on.

\--

The pressure worsened come Saturday morning, when Billy arrived to stabling early to help Cassie feed the horses their breakfast and assist with the young horses in the morning speed classes. He was filling water buckets when Loki Laufeyson sauntered over to him, a dangerous smirk on his face. The minute Billy saw him he knew that their interaction wasn’t going to be pleasant; next to Greg, Loki was probably his least favorite Pine Hollow rider.

“You've been getting awfully friendly with Altman lately, huh.”

Billy froze, a lump suddenly forming in his throat.

“What're trying to do, poach my stablemate? Greg’s not going to be happy to hear that,” Loki sneered, leaning over the stall door and idly prodding at the Himalayan pink salt lick hung there.

“I don't see how that's any of your business,” Billy retorted. Was that why he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Teddy the day before? Had Greg caught wind of their— _whatever it was_ —and kept Teddy away from him?

“Chill, chill, it's whatever to me,” Loki said coolly. “I was just curious why Greg was keeping him on an especially tight leash yesterday. Busy, busy, you know. He's Greg’s favorite after all.”

“I've no interest in taking Teddy away from Pine Hollow. We have plenty of talented riders already on the roster at Genosha.” Billy frowned. “You should probably spend more time worrying about losing to Kate and Eli later today in the team final.”

“Jeez, you really _are_ as touchy as they say.” Loki threw up his hands in mock exasperation. “Just know this—if I were you, I’d stay away from Teddy Altman. I wouldn’t want to get on Greg’s bad side, you know what I mean?”

“No, I don’t know.” Billy’s jaw set. “I’ve got a lot of work to do, if you don’t mind.”

“It’s your funeral. Later, Maximoff.”

When he left the aisle, Cassie poked her head out of the adjacent stall, her expression worried. “What was that all about?”

Billy shrugged. “Fuck if I know. Loki being a dick per usual.”

“All right well, we’ve got to get over into warm-up now. Nate and Kang should be going any minute. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Billy nodded, despite himself. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Loki’s warning was genuine, and that there was just something _off_ about Teddy and Greg. He thought back on the last couple of days and the unquestionable obedience Teddy displayed when it came to Greg.  _What could he possibly have on Teddy for him to bend over backwards every time?_

“Billy, come on! We’re going to be late!” Cassie dragged him out of the barn, leaving no room for arguments.

Once at the beachfront arena, Nate and Kang were waiting for them at the gate. Dane was saying something to Nate, but he had already spotted Cassie and was waving them over. As Cassie did a last minute check of Kang’s equipment, Billy looked up at the scoreboard and grimaced.

“Clear round for Jonathan Kesler on Blackheart, no faults, time 40.03 seconds.”

Nate gave Billy a nervous smile. “Well, there goes that medal.”

Billy grabbed his knee and hoisted him up onto Kang’s back with gritted teeth. “Just shut up and do your job, Richards.” Kang was in another one of his moods, dancing in place as Billy struggled to hang on to him. He checked the young gelding sharply by yanking on one rein. “You quit that shit, I’m not really in the mood for it.”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Cassie commented, handing Nate his whip with a smile. “Go get ‘em.”

Dane patted Nate’s booted calf. “You’re going to do fine. Remember, it’s a speed round, but don’t push him hard. It’s too early in the season to be burning him out and we’re just getting him warmed up to these heights.”

As Nate walked Kang into the ring, Cassie gave Billy a sidelong look. “So what’s wrong? It’s not because Nate’s about to get his ass beat by a Pine Hollow rider, is it? You know this is just to get Kang going for this outdoor season, the win doesn’t really matter.”

She followed Billy’s gaze to where Teddy stood at the gate with Greg, congratulating their stablemate on his almost certain win. “Oh, I see. This is about what Loki said to you earlier.”

Billy’s stomach hurt just looking at them.

“You know, I don’t get you,” Cassie continued, not taking her eyes off of Nate as he circled Kang to pick up a steady canter. “What could possibly be going wrong? Every time I see you two together you look pretty…cozy.”

The buzzer indicated the start of Nate’s round, and Kang flew to the first fence. Billy made sure Dane was far enough from them on the rail before responding.

“Yeah, until every time Greg shows up. Then the leash tightens and the obedient doggy goes home to his master.” Billy made a yanking gesture and scowled. “Loki might be right. I just don’t think getting involved with someone from Pine Hollow is a great idea, even if he _does_ have the body of Adonis.”

Cassie frowned. “I don’t think you get to decide what’s a great idea or not until you actually admit to him that you’re gay and that you would very much like to see him naked—uh, did Kang just go clear?”

Billy whistled lowly. “Speed round or no, those were some awfully sharp turns for a young horse’s joints to be taking. It’s like Nate didn’t listen to a single word Dane said to him all week about it.”

“Clear round for Nathaniel Richards on Kang the Conqueror, no faults, time 39.97 seconds.”

“Don’t change the subject.” Cassie snorted.

Nate was already trotting back to the gate and Billy shrugged. “Subject changed. You better take care of your boy there.”

Cassie huffed at him as he walked away, uninterested in discussing with Nate the foolhardiness of his round, even if it _did_ put him into first place. He was even more uninterested in talking about Teddy.

“Billy!”

_Speak of the damn devil._

Teddy greeted him with a familiar smile that still managed to warm Billy down to his toes. “Nate’s round was amazing! Kang really digs into those turns. I can’t wait to see him mature, he’s going to be an awesome Grand Prix horse.”

“Hmph, that’s if he lasts that long,” Billy grumbled. “I’m not too happy about him winging Kang around like that at his age, and I’m pretty sure Granddad will agree with me. All he cared about was winning against Kesler and didn’t take into consideration what that could do to his horse long-term.”

Teddy looked thoughtful, and then shrugged. “Well, I’m sure Dane will have something to say to him then even before Erik gets involved. But it doesn’t hurt to teach them to push hard, even at an early age, as long as he isn’t doing it all the time.”

Billy prickled at that, raising his voice. “Well what do _you_ know? You’ve never owned a horse of your own so you can’t possibly understand the pressure of making sure that they’re brought up correctly and stay sound for their entire careers. It’s different from catch riding because you actually have to stick around and finish what you started!”

At that point, Billy wasn’t sure if he was talking about Kang or Teddy for the second time that week. The obvious hurt on Teddy’s face made him instantly regret every word.

“Teddy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

Teddy shook his head and held up a hand. “No, I get it. You’re right, it is different with a horse you own, I’m sure. But if you think that I don’t make all the same safety considerations with Hulk or any of Pine Hollow’s young horses, you’re dead wrong.” His gaze bored into Billy’s, his mouth a tight-lipped line. “You know, I really didn’t want to believe Greg when he told me that you were stuck-up and elitist and that I shouldn't get involved with you. I never got that vibe from you until literally just now, but I’m guess I’m glad I found out sooner rather than later.”

“I’m not, I promise,” Billy said desperately, reaching out to touch Teddy’s arm. The blond boy jerked away.

“I really thought you were different.” The worst part about Teddy’s expression was that it was more wounded than angry. Billy vibrated with distress at the sight of it.

“Teddy, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean what I said, truly, it’s just been a _really_ weird morning—”

Teddy laughed bitterly. “And you know what? I do always finish what I start. At least, when they turn out to be worth finishing. Now, I don’t know.” He studied Billy’s face as if hoping for a better explanation.

Billy had none, and shrugged helplessly. Teddy shook his head with a heavy sigh, turning on his heel to quickly walk back over to his stablemates, his shoulders drawn close together in anger. He didn’t look back, and Billy felt his stomach plummet to his feet.

_Nice going, asshole. Now he hates you._

The satisfied smirk Greg directed at him over Teddy’s shoulder did not go unnoticed, and it unsettled Billy to the core. Somehow, more so than losing a friend, it felt like he had made a real enemy.

\--

“And the Young Riders have it here in Miami Beach! Greg Norris clinches his first GCT Grand Prix win on Fossegrim, followed closely by Billy Maximoff on Wiccan’s Epona and Teddy Altman on The Incredible Hulkling! I'm getting flashbacks of last year’s NAJYRC! Fractions of a second separated the jump off results of these three riders in their last eligibility year as Young Riders—that's right folks, all three of them are only 21 years old. What a historic season they've set up for us here! That’s it for Miami Beach, so be sure to tune back into GCT TV as we head next to Shanghai. Follow us on Instagram @globalchampionstour!”

 


	3. Westchester County, NY, USA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An orphaned foal brings Billy and Teddy together, and unlikely confessions are made in the dead of night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter! It's been an wild couple of weeks balancing the manuscript I'm writing for my PhD, my own horse show career, and the stomach flu--and to top it all off this chapter just wasn't shaping up to be where I wanted it to be yet. But an update is here now and hopefully I'm going to be a bit more regular with these updates moving forward!

> Hey there! Didn’t see much of you in Shanghai. Can I buy you lunch or something this week? Or we could hang out here, or Pine Hollow, whatever you want.

Billy shut his phone display off and pressed his thumb to the middle of his forehead. This was the third text he had sent Teddy already today, and he was starting to come off as desperate. It had been nearly two full weeks of radio silence from Teddy after the debacle in Miami Beach, and Billy had been hoping that when they saw each other in Shanghai, there would have been an opportunity to reach out and try to salvage their— _whatever it was._ At that point, Billy was ready to settle for friendship if it meant that Teddy would ever speak to him again.

But they had been stabled in different barns on opposite ends of the venue, and Teddy did a remarkable job of avoiding him. They had made eye contact once in the warm-up arena for the Grand Prix, but as Billy began to speak, Teddy had merely nodded curtly and kicked Hulk forward into a straight up hand gallop.

_You’d think I could take a fucking hint, but no, apparently not._

He looked up to see Cassie peering into the window of the training barn office. She knocked and waved to him, then flung the door open, letting in no fewer than three barn cats.

“Goddammit Cass, you know the Cuckoos aren’t supposed to be in here.” Billy gathered up the three tortoiseshell kittens all at once and plunked them back into the aisle unceremoniously.

Cassie laughed. “Don’t call them that! They have _names_ , you know.”

“Phoebe, Mindee, and Celeste are terrible cat names, and I blame you.” Billy shut the door behind him despite the loud meowing coming from the other side. “What do you want?”

“What do _I_ want?” Cassie flung her arms up and waved them exasperatedly. “I want my best friend to stop hiding out in this office like the world is ending and get out and _do_ something! You’ve been cooped up for the full 48 hours we’ve been home. Call someone! Go out and get a burger, or a hooker, I don’t care, just fucking _leave_ Genosha property!”

Billy plopped back down onto the leather office chair and shook his head. “Don't wanna.”

“Goddammit Billy, I'm going to do this by force if I have to—”

“Uh, Billy?” Nate flung the door open again, and the Cuckoos scampered back into the office. Billy cursed.

_“What?”_

“You'd better get out here.”

Billy raced out of the office, half expecting to see Teddy. Instead, Nate gestured for him to follow and took off in the direction of the breeding barn.

When they arrived, Erik and Pietro were already there. Billy frowned. The breeding operation was his uncle’s business, and his grandfather didn't get involved unless something bad happened.

Billy peered into the foaling stall they were stopped in front of. It was the mare that had given birth two nights before, Scarlet Witch. Her tiny foal, the color of a storm cloud, nursed furiously at her side. With a sinking feeling, Billy noticed the dark lather on her neck, her labored breathing, her listless stance. His fears were confirmed when he heard Pietro greet their vet, Hank McCoy.

“I came as fast as I could. What’s going on?”

“Hank, good of you to come so quickly. I’ve been told that Scarlet had a normal delivery the other night and the foal is doing fine, but you can see that clearly, _she_ is not.” Erik’s face was creased deeply in worry.

Hank frowned and let himself into the stall. The foal squealed and skittered away from him but the mare didn’t even lift her head in response. He pursed his lips and shook his head with a heavy sigh.

“Well, I’m going to have to examine her, but it’s possible that she ruptured her uterus during delivery.” Hank rubbed the back of his neck and continued, “The symptoms can be this long delayed, and it’s hard to know during the delivery that anything had gone wrong.”

Pietro nodded grimly. “Do what you must.” What he said next was so under his breath that Billy barely caught it. “She’s my favorite.”

“This is her Vision foal, isn’t it?” Billy said quietly.

His uncle gave an imperceptible nod. Billy’s heart sank. They had been highly anticipating this foal since her breeding to the stallion Vision last year. Pietro had jokingly claimed during the pregnancy that this foal was going to be his comeback to international showjumping.

When Hank completed the examination, he pulled Pietro and Erik aside to speak with them privately. Billy rested his forearms on the stall door while he waited, and the foal reached up to nip his skin lightly.

“Ow, you little shit!” Billy found himself laughing despite the bleakness of the situation.

“I think he likes you.” Nate smiled and scratched the foal’s tiny velvety nose. “He’s a nice looking colt.”

“...the good news is that one of Pine Hollow’s mares recently lost a foal and is still producing milk. You might want to give them a call, just in case.” Hank had made his way back over to the stall with Erik and Pietro, their faces solemn. “You’ll call me if she gets worse?”

Pietro nodded. “Absolutely. Thanks, Hank. We’ll keep you posted.”

Hank acknowledged them both, and headed back out to his truck. Erik cleared his throat and put a gentle hand on Pietro’s shoulder.

“If it comes to it, you know what to do.”

Billy gritted his teeth silently. He himself had never been too involved with the breeding operation at Genosha but at least he knew what happened to orphan foals at their farm—sold to the highest bidder willing to either hand rear them or attempt to bond the foal to a nursemare. But they never stayed at Genosha, not for as long as Billy could remember. Erik considered orphan foals a weakness in the breeding program: unpredictable, uneconomical, and unwanted.

When Erik walked away, Billy looked over at his uncle, who was gazing blankly into the stall.

“She carried you to some pretty incredible wins back in her day, huh?” Billy said softly.

Pietro nodded and swallowed hard, the rims of his eyes hinting red. “Scarlet carried us to gold at both the Pan-Am Games and the FEI World Cup in the same year. She was the cattiest little jumping machine in her prime.” He smiled faintly, a lopsided, nostalgic expression. “She's the reason I wanted to get into breeding in the first place. Every time I rode her, I thought to myself...there needs to be more of her to go around.”

There was a beat before Billy touched his uncle’s shoulder in sympathy. “I'm sure Scarlet will be fine. Her foals have all been incredible, and I bet that this one is going to be the best one. Call me if you need me? I'll be in the training office.”

He hastened away then, but not before he heard his uncle say quietly, voice breaking, “I always loved you the most, you know that? You’re such a good girl. Always such a good girl.”

Billy quickened his step down the barn aisle, willing himself not to cry.

By the following afternoon, Scarlet’s stall was as empty as the hollow pit in Billy’s stomach. He refused to make eye contact with his uncle, who sat alone in the breeding office, his face hidden from view.

Billy made his way down to the foal’s new stall at the end of the aisle. Even though it was much smaller than the foaling stall he had shared with Scarlet, his diminutive size made it feel heart-wrenchingly empty. Erik was already pacing in the aisle, on the phone, his face looking older and more tired than Billy had ever seen it before.

“Yes, he's quite a nice foal. Scarlet Witch, as you know, was one of Pietro’s most successful mounts, and the stallion, Vision, has sired some very nice young horses on the circuit right now. I think you'll really be pleased with how this one will turn out. It's really as simple as finding a nursemare; in fact, I know of one locally—”

Billy frowned deeply. _Scarlet’s body isn't even cold in the ground yet and Granddad is hawking her foal to the highest bidder._ He didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation; he needed to do something, and fast. Billy didn't know the first thing about raising an orphan foal, and especially not about how to get a nursemare to accept one, but he refused to let his grandfather send away this foal—not Scarlet’s last.

Skidding around the corner back towards the training office, he impulsively pulled out his phone and started texting:

> Okay, we don't have to be friends, but we can at least be civil with each other professionally. I have a favor to ask you. We have an orphaned foal here at Genosha and I heard that there's a mare who recently lost her foal over at Pine Hollow. I'm willing to make whatever arrangements necessary for a nursemare lease and come pick her up whenever you or anyone else is available. Please let me know at your earliest convenience, but keep in mind that as always with orphaned foals, time is precious.

Billy paused in the aisle and reviewed the uncomfortably sterile text he had just sent to Teddy with a deep sigh. He wasn't sure who else he would have tried to get a hold of at Pine Hollow, since he didn't know who their breeding manager was and he _definitely_ wasn't going to try to ask Greg. He just hoped that Teddy would find it in himself to actually answer a text for once.

His phone pinged a couple of hours later while he was trying to wrestle a tiny halter onto the grey foal. Billy cursed as the foal skittered away from him, the halter in a tangle on the stall floor.

> I'm sorry to hear. I'll see what I can do and let you know.

Billy frowned. _Well that was a vague enough response, but it's something, I guess._

The foal cocked his head at him, and Billy sighed, grabbing the halter from the ground and brushing off the shavings stuck to it. “Come on foal, let’s do this.”

He sped away to the opposite corner, shaking his head violently. A smile crept up the corners of Billy’s mouth. “Well now I know what I’m going to call you, you little shit. Come back here, Speed!”

\--

“Bad news text? You look upset.”

Teddy looked up from his phone and shrugged at Greg. “Genosha lost a broodmare and now they’ve got an orphan foal. They’re asking to take Anelle on nursemare lease.”

Greg grabbed Teddy by the wrist of the hand holding his phone and sneered, “Who’s asking, Maximoff?”

The blond boy wrested his arm away and rubbed his wrist, frowning. “Yeah, what’s it matter to you? It’s not like he was asking to hang out or anything. It’s a business deal. I’m not interested in being friends with him.”

“Just strange that he decided to text _you_ instead of reaching out to our breeding manager. Seems awfully personal.” Greg gave him a pointed look, and then shrugged. “Hell, what do I care? They can come get the mare whenever. It’s not like we have a use for her right now anyway.”

“I’ll head down to the breeding barn and make the arrangements.” Teddy took the opportunity to hurry away from Greg then, and let out a sigh of relief once he was a safe distance from the training barn. He pulled out his phone again and re-read Billy’s text.

_Well, that’s about as professional as a text message gets._ He frowned. _I guess he finally got my hint loud and clear._

Truthfully, Teddy was tired of being underestimated by everyone he met in the horse industry. Greg beat him down enough on a daily basis already, and he just wasn’t interested in picking up any more so-called friends who questioned his capabilities. When Billy had said what he did back in Miami, it had come as a shock to Teddy, and with that shock came more hurt than he had expected. What was even less expected was how _sad_ Teddy felt now that Billy finally seemed to understand that he wanted nothing to do with him.

“Jennifer, you in?” Teddy opened the door to the breeding office and immediately spotted the mousy brunette poking around in the medication fridge.

“Teddy! What can I do you for? Er, I mean, do for you?” She pinked and adjusted her glasses.

Teddy smiled affectionately. Pine Hollow’s breeding manager, Jennifer Walters, was a little nervous around people but Teddy had always assumed that it was what made her particularly effective with the horses. “Genosha has an orphan foal and they’re asking about Anelle. Are you cool with letting her out on a nursemare lease?”

“Oh, yes, that would be wonderful for her. She’s been so awfully sad since she lost her foal.” Jennifer began to riffle through a stack of papers on her desk. “I’ll just draw up the paperwork and you can get her ready to bring over there.”

“Bring over there?” Teddy frowned. “Um, I was thinking they would come pick her up here. They’re the ones who want to take her on lease so they should be the ones to transport her, right?”

Jennifer shook her head vigorously and had to re-adjust her glasses. “No, no, Anelle is very particular so she should go over in our trailer, and I want you to see the place and make sure she settles in okay, especially with the foal. You know how she can get! She trusts you.”

“I’ve volunteered in breeding like, twice, I’m not really the best person—” Her bespectacled glare was enough to cut Teddy off mid-protest.

“More importantly, _I_ trust you. I know you won’t just dump her there with a bunch of strangers like most of the yahoos that work here.” She gave him a pointed look. “I know you actually _care_ about her well-being.”

Teddy pursed his lips for a moment, and then sighed. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

Jennifer smiled sweetly. “I’ll fax the paperwork over to Genosha. I’ll let you know when they’d like her to arrive.”

“You can just give me the paperwork. I’ll have Billy sign when I get there.” Teddy rubbed the back of his neck, muttering, “Since I’m clearly doing this.”

He pulled out his phone as Jennifer set about looking for the appropriate paperwork, humming to herself. When he read Billy’s detached text for the third time, he felt that pang of inexplicable sadness again. He ran a hand through his thick blond hair and texted:

> Everything good to go on our end re: nursemare. I’ll be bringing over the paperwork for you to sign whenever you’d like her dropped off.

His phone pinged almost instantaneously.

> Thanks, but you don’t have to bring her here. I am happy to come pick her up.

Teddy winced. _So he’s about as unhappy about seeing me as I am._

> Our breeding manager says she’s particular about trailering so the mare has to go in our rig, and she wants me to go with her. Can’t argue with the boss.

The next text took several minutes to actually arrive despite the typing notification lingering on the screen.

> That's fine. Could you bring her by first thing tomorrow? Thanks.

“Jennifer, is Anelle good to go for tomorrow morning?” Teddy cleared his throat of the burning lump there, not taking his eyes off of his phone screen.

She shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I should have the paperwork done shortly and you can just take it with you.”

Teddy nodded sullenly. “Um, okay, yeah I’ll go and wrap her legs for the trip.”

He shut the door to the breeding office behind him, his stomach fluttering wildly as he made his way down the aisle to Anelle’s stall. The sensation felt a lot like dread, but maybe even a little bit like hope.

\--

“Cass, I just need you to distract him long enough for me to get the mare off the trailer.”

Cassie turned around in the aisle to face him, hands on her hips. “And lose my job once he figures out what you’re doing? Look, Billy, I am all for saving this foal but you really need to be upfront with your grandfather. This can’t possibly end well.”

“Speed. The foal’s name is Speed.” Billy threw up his hands in exasperation. “Come on, Cass, it’s bad enough for me that Teddy’s the one bringing the mare over. I can’t deal with both things at once.”

“And _that_ —don’t even get me started on that whole debacle. I don’t even know how the thing in Miami became such a big deal.”

Billy fell silent. “I don’t really know either. I think Greg had something to do with it, that’s for sure.”

“Well maybe you can fix whatever it was when Teddy gets here,” Cassie said pointedly. “I presume he’s coming alone, without Greg? I don’t know, maybe an opportunity for you to talk?”

The look on Billy’s face told Cassie that he hadn’t even considered it. The dawning of his realization was so dramatic that he grabbed her by the shoulders to shake her. “Cass, all the more reason why you have to cover for me with Granddad! Can’t you just fake some kind of emergency or maybe ask if you can start campaigning one of the young horses once the GCT is over and your grooming responsibilities lessen or something?”

“Billy, I am not faking an emergency.”

“We all know that you’ve had your eye on Stature ever since we bought her at the yearling auction…” Billy wiggled his eyebrows. “I don’t know, maybe an opportunity for _you_ to talk…?”

Cassie smacked him on the shoulder and sighed relentingly. “This is not how I imagined broaching the subject with Erik.”

“You’re the best, and I love you. Teddy should be here any minute now, thank you!” He hurried out of the office, leaving the door ajar behind him.

“Wait, what? You didn’t even give me time to prepare for this? Billy? _Billy!”_

A white truck pulling a massive trailer with _Pine Hollow Performance Horses_ emblazoned on the side roared into the gravel driveway, and Billy skidded to a stop at the end of the aisle.

His heart rose like bile into his throat and lodged there firmly as he caught a glimpse of Teddy’s blond hair in the driver's seat window. Bright blue eyes met his in the rearview mirror, and Teddy waved casually. Billy waved back, feeling like his limbs were heavier than usual, his motions not his own.

“You brought a ten-horse trailer to bring one horse 25 miles,” Billy said breathlessly.

He was relieved when Teddy chuckled. “Anelle is pretty particular about which trailer she likes, and it’s this one, unfortunately.”

Teddy opened the door and hopped out of the truck, and Billy swallowed. He looked just as good as he remembered, the antithesis of every prep-school equestrian prince in a faded band T-shirt, cowboy jeans and dirty boots.

“So the mare’s name is Anelle?”

“Yeah, she lost her foal just a few days ago. It’s a real shame. He was a nice little guy.” Teddy put his hands on his hips and frowned. “Anyway, we can make this quick. I don’t want to be in your way. I’m sure you have more important things to do today than talk to me.”

“Teddy—” Billy reached for him but the blond boy was already making his way to the back of the trailer. He pressed a thumb to his forehead and grimaced.

As Teddy unlatched the doors to the trailer, Billy fumbled for words. “Hey, um, I really appreciate you bringing her by. After we get her settled, maybe you could come into the office for a coffee? Haven’t seen you in a while.” _I miss you._

“I’ve got a lot to do today at Pine Hollow training horses I don’t really care about, so I’m going to have to pass.” He set down the ramp and disappeared into the trailer with a lead rope.

Billy blew out a sigh. “Teddy, I already said I was sorry, I didn’t mean what I said, I know I was an asshole to you in Miami—”

“William, _what is going on here?”_

The dark-haired boy whipped his head to look back at the breeding barn and saw Erik’s face growing stormier with each stride down the aisle. Cassie followed closely behind, mouthing “I’m sorry, I tried” with an apologetic look on her face.

Billy ignored him and watched Teddy unload the mare from the trailer. “Um, anyway, she's just going to go into that first foaling stall on the left, for now, until I figure out what I'm doing with her. Thanks.”

“William, I'm talking to you!” The warning look on Erik’s face was almost enough to falter Billy’s resolve. “Is that the mare from Pine Hollow? You know this isn't our protocol for orphaned foals. We don't have the staff or the resources to allocate towards this!”

Billy whirled to face his grandfather, his face reddening with anger. “Granddad, I don't give a _shit_ about the protocol. That foal, the one you’re already trying to get rid of? That’s Scarlet’s last baby. Our Scarlet, one of our first broodmares, who helped make this breeding operation what it is today. Is he really just an ‘orphaned foal’ to you?”

Erik’s mouth was tight-lipped, his frown deep.

“And what’s more,” Billy continued, “this isn't about cutting losses, or what's more _economical_. This is a living creature who deserves to be cared for and loved just like any other foal born under this roof. I'm not letting you send him away like you always do. I'm going to hand rear him myself if the mare won't take him, I promise you that.”

He turned to Teddy, who had stopped at the foot of the ramp to gape openly at his tirade, and took the mare’s lead rope. “I can take her from here, thanks for bringing her. I’ll wire the money into Pine Hollow’s accounts later today. What’s her name again? Anelle?”

Teddy nodded, and seemed to think for a moment. He grasped Billy’s arm as he started to walk past with Anelle, and the dark-haired boy flinched, letting out a small breath of surprise, but didn't dare meet his intense blue gaze.

“You’re going to need help. I’ve heard that this is by no means an easy thing to do.”

“Cassie can help me. I'll be okay.” Billy kept his eyes firmly trained on the mare’s cheek. _If I look at him, it’ll be all over for me._

“Look, I've spent some time in the breeding barn at Pine Hollow because they could always use the extra hand, so Anelle knows me pretty well by now. I just think it will go better if she has someone familiar helping with the process.” Teddy looked down at his feet and continued quietly, “I think you're doing a really good thing here and I want to help you.” He shrugged. “That is, if you think I'm competent enough to help.”

Billy winced at the jab, but accepted the opportunity willingly. “Yeah,” he croaked after a long pause, “you're right. I mean, you probably know way more about it than I do, to be totally honest. I'm kind of just winging it right now so Granddad thinks I know what I'm doing. Just go with it.” He managed a weak smile and added, “Thank you.”

“What are you going to do with him when you leave for Madrid in two weeks?” Erik insisted, his expression still doubtful. “Do you have a plan for that? Because you’re not dragging any of the breeding staff into bottle feeding him while you’re gone, and you’d better not be thinking of skipping a leg of the GCT over this.”

Billy shrugged. “I guess we’re just going to have to get him to nurse from this mare before then, huh Granddad?”

Erik threw his hands up in exasperation. “Do what you want, William. But remember, I better not hear that you asked any of my breeding staff to help you. None of my staff gets derailed from their jobs because of this.” He walked back to the breeding office in a huff, and Billy let out a massive sigh of relief.

Cassie gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, I really tried. He said he wasn’t interested in talking about any of the four-year-olds until the GCT was over and then he heard the rig pull up. There wasn’t much I could do.”

“It’s okay.” Billy looked down at the ground. “Now I get to disappoint everyone, including this foal, but what can you do?”

“I can help?” she offered brightly, casting a quick glance at Teddy, who hadn’t said a word since Erik left.

Billy made brief eye contact with Teddy, who gave the tiniest of nods. “I think we got it covered, thanks Cass.” She gave both of them a suspicious look before turning back to the training office.

A thick tension descended upon Billy and Teddy as they walked into the breeding barn, the former tugging Anelle along gently. The latter opened the first stall door, sliding it open with a metallic clank.

“Well, that went...well.”

“It went about as well as could be expected.” Teddy studied Billy as he removed Anelle’s halter and stepped back out of the stall. “I didn't know that you were defying your grandfather. Not sure if I would have gotten involved if I'd known.” His tone was lighthearted despite his words, and Billy gave him a weary smile.

“I don't mind disobeying Granddad if I think he's wrong, and he's definitely wrong about this.” Billy hung the halter up on the hook outside the stall door and put his hands on his hips, sighing. “I just remember how excited my uncle was about breeding Scarlet to Vision, and he had all these grand plans for the foal...it just seemed unfair that bad circumstances would stop this little guy from still fulfilling those dreams. So I just wanted to give him a shot. Seemed the least anybody could do.”

The reluctant smile that Teddy gave him in response was unexpectedly warm; it felt almost personally grateful. Billy flushed and started walking down the aisle to the foal’s stall to avoid making eye contact again.

“So, where do we start?” he stammered, as he fiddled with putting the halter on the obstinate foal’s head.

Teddy shrugged. “You could start by telling me his name?”

“Speed. His name is Speed. Because he skitters around so fast I can hardly catch him.” The halter on, Speed dug his front feet into the floor of the stall and refused to budge. Billy laughed. “Except now, clearly.”

They managed to convince him to walk down the aisle to Anelle’s stall, where Teddy ducked in and tied the mare to one corner. He spoke to her softly while patting her nose, and she blinked docile eyes at him. When Billy entered the stall with Speed, she barely stirred when the foal nickered loudly to her.

“Okay, so I’m just going with what Jennifer, our breeding manager, told me to do, but I’m hoping that it’s as straightforward as it sounds. Just tie him across from her so they can see and smell each other, and then we need to give them some time to get used to each other before we attempt to get him to nurse.”

Speed balked at the tie but settled quickly, pawing at the ground occasionally. Billy stood back and looked at Teddy from across the stall expectantly.

“Now what?”

“Now we wait.”

\--

Hours later, Billy found himself sitting across the foaling stall from where Teddy stood at Anelle’s head. He winced as she pushed Speed away forcefully and returned to picking at her hay, marking their nth failure of the day and leaving him a tangled heap of legs in between them.

“This is going a lot worse than I thought it would,” Billy huffed, equally frustrated with their lack of progress and the old and obstinate silence between them. “Let me guess...we just keep trying and bottle feed him again every time she rejects him?”

Teddy nodded. “Sounds about right.”

Billy frowned. “You know, you’ve barely said anything to me and we’ve been sitting in this stall for hours together. So what, this isn't your first rodeo then? Because it's definitely mine. I have literally no idea what I'm doing, and I'm willing to admit that when it's true.” He looked pointedly at Teddy.

“Like I said, I’m just going with the instructions our breeding manager gave me.” Teddy shrugged noncommittally, looking anywhere but at the other boy.

Billy opened his mouth and closed it again, realizing that he didn't know what to say in response, and just nodded. An awkward silence set back in and he pulled out his phone to check the time as the late afternoon sun began to set. Teddy blew out a disgruntled sigh and went to retrieve the milk bottle from the bottle heater plugged into the aisle.

“So, uh,” Billy ventured as Speed began to nurse, “have you ever had to camp out in a stall before?”

Teddy nodded, not taking his eyes off the milk level in the bottle. “Back when I was just starting out at Pine Hollow, Hulk colicked. I spent the night in his stall and didn't sleep a wink. All I could think about was that I must have done something wrong, fed him bad hay, fed him too soon after not cooling him down enough. I was terrified.”

Billy was silent for a moment. “That's really scary. I'm glad it turned out okay.” He cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. “Hey uh, I'm sorry again for what I said in Miami Beach. I know that you care about every horse you work with—hell, you probably care more than the owner does most of the time, to be honest. Some of our clients just give us money and never show up. I'm not convinced that some of them even know what their horse looks like.” He smiled wryly. “Much less camped out for a colic.”

The blond boy shrugged, refusing to make eye contact. “It's not a big deal. I guess I'm over it.”

Billy nodded _. It’s going to be a very long night if our exchanges continue like this._ He grimaced and turned his attention back to Speed, who had laid down next to him, curled in a tight ball. He scratched the white star on his forehead thoughtfully as the foal slept.

They switched off every hour feeding him after each failed attempt to nurse from Anelle, and occasionally Teddy would indulge him in brief conversation between feedings. The barn was quiet as the clock ticked into the early hours of the morning, the only audible sounds the rustling of bedding as Speed alternated sleeping positions and Billy and Teddy’s intermittent yawning.

“So how did you end up at the Maclay Finals, anyway? I know you have this incredible rags-to-riches story, but sadly I don’t know much about it.”

Teddy leaned back against the wooden boards of the stall, Speed’s head in his lap. Billy wasn’t sure if he seemed more sociable now while sleep-deprived, or if he was finally wearing him down. “Well, I guess it really started when one of the camp directors offered to let me start riding some of the show horses at his barn in Westchester in exchange for me cleaning stalls and feeding in the mornings before school. I was 14 or 15, maybe? I only got to ride a couple times a week at first. But then soon I was riding almost every day, and I was getting to ride boarder horses too. I had a small string of horses I was competing for both the barn and for boarders by the end of my first summer show season, and I broke into the AA-circuit the following summer and then shipped down to Ocala for my first winter season.” He grinned despite himself. “I got really lucky. The rest is history, I guess.”

“Lucky, or just that talented?” Billy laughed as Teddy flushed. He regarded the blond boy with a fond, nostalgic look. “This reminds me of that first night we hung out,” he murmured. “Back in Mexico City.”

Teddy's smile faded, and he shrugged. “Seems like it was forever ago.” He looked down and fiddled with the buckle on Speed’s halter. “You know, I thought that when I won the Maclay, it meant that people would finally stop underestimating me. But I guess I was wrong.”

Billy fell silent for a moment, stung.

Teddy continued, “I built my whole career on people who gave me a chance. My camp director, all those boarders, the syndicate that owned the horse I rode in the Maclay, hell, even Greg—but when it comes down to it, I’m still nothing in the eyes of the old money legacies, huh.”

“I wish I could take back what I said,” Billy frowned, then proceeded carefully, “but whatever Greg is saying about me, being stuck up and elitist just because of who my grandfather and uncle are...that’s pretty presumptuous too, don’t you think? What have I ever done to reinforce that idea besides that one shitty thing I said to you out of misdirected anger?”

“Seriously, you’re trying to tell me that you said that to me because you were mad about Nate and Kang? I don’t think that’s a good enough reason—”

“No.” Billy shook his head violently. “No, I was angry because I was jealous of how quickly you drop everything—me included—whenever Greg so much as _looks_ your way. Are you in love with him or something?”

His words hung in the air like daggers and Teddy’s earlier flush grew into a violent red. Billy choked an apology, covering his face with his hands, willing himself to shrink and disappear.

“Um, shit, uh, that was really...I’m sorry, foot, meet mouth again. Just...forget I said anything, okay?”

Speed’s shallow breathing sounded like roaring in the silence. Billy pressed the heels of his hands into his eyeballs so hard he saw stars.

Teddy coughed uncomfortably and shifted under Speed’s weight. “...I guess if we’re being truthful, I was, once.”

Billy dropped his hands and stared at him, swallowing hard, his mouth suddenly dry. The other boy’s gaze was averted stubbornly onto the rise and fall of the foal’s chest.

“But I realized pretty quickly that he wasn’t ever going to feel the same way about me, and _that_ I should be grateful for, in all honesty.”

Billy opened his mouth and closed it again, his body thrumming with anticipation. “So, ah, you’re saying that you’re, um, and he’s not, uh…”

Teddy nodded.

It took Billy a moment to find his voice again. “Well, he’s probably terrible boyfriend material from what I can tell,” he offered weakly. “But then again, I wouldn't really know.”

He could feel Teddy watching him curiously, and he felt compelled to qualify before he could stop himself. “I mean, I haven't had a boyfriend yet, but I'm sure that when I do I'll have a better idea of what makes a good one.” He laughed softly, and a smile tugged at Teddy’s lips, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

The air stilled between them in the wake of blooming mutual understanding, Billy’s mind racing a million miles a minute. Teddy was the first to break the hush.

“For what it’s worth, I’m really, really glad he didn’t end up my boyfriend, trust me. What a nightmare _that_ would have been.”

Billy's peal of laughter, heavy with relief, cut the lull of nighttime barn activity and startled Speed out of Teddy’s lap. He unfolded into a neighing tangle of legs and Teddy sighed, picking up the milk bottle.

“See what you made me do?” Billy accused, his smile teasing. “Now we have to feed the damn baby again.”

“We’re still going to have to feed this baby a whole bunch more times if he doesn't get his act together with Anelle,” Teddy snorted. “You didn't expect to get any sleep now, did you?”

The dark-haired boy shook his head and watched Teddy encourage Speed to latch onto the bottle for the nth time already that night. _The world is a different place than it was just five minutes ago_. _How could I possibly ever sleep again?_

_\--_

Billy slowly awoke, blinking. _Where am I?_ His eyes took a moment to focus and he was all at once acutely aware of Teddy, fast asleep on his shoulder. Billy’s heart jumped and caught in his throat. _Maybe we fixed it. Maybe we’re okay now._

When his vision cleared, he caught a glimpse of Speed, nursing steadily at Anelle’s side. His eyes widened, suddenly fully awake.

“Teddy! Teddy, wake up!”

Teddy grumbled, nuzzling Billy’s shoulder in protest. Billy whacked his thigh insistently.

“Whahappened?” His sleepy reply turned into a bright “Oh!” as he registered what he was seeing. “Billy, we did it! He's nursing! We did it!”

They grabbed each other's shoulders, laughing and shaking excitedly. Impulsively, Billy pulled Teddy into a hug and buried his face in the crook of the blond boy’s neck.

“Thanks for sticking it out with me,” he murmured, his voice muffled.

Teddy tightened his grip around him and Billy felt him nod. “Yeah, after all, I think it might have been worth it.”

They disengaged from one another, their proximity suddenly awkward. Teddy cleared his throat sheepishly.

“Um, hey, so about our last conversation,” he began, avoiding Billy’s hopeful expression, “could you maybe not say anything to Greg, again?”

Billy’s face fell. “Yeah, uh, of course.”

“It’s not because I’m ashamed of being gay, or anything like that.” Teddy pursed his lips. “I just know that it wouldn’t really sit well with Greg, and it just gets complicated with me living and working at Pine Hollow. It just seems simpler for him not to know. I can’t afford to lose this job.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Billy nodded. “I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to.” He averted his eyes and shrugged. “For what it’s worth, Cassie’s pretty much the only other person who knows...about me. I guess I still wasn’t too sure if I wanted to live that life yet, so I didn’t exactly make a point of telling people.”

“I'm really glad you told me.”

Billy punched his shoulder lightly. “Yeah well, don’t just ditch me whenever Greg wants you to anymore though. I have feelings too, you know.”

“Hey, I won’t, I promise.” Teddy’s smile was bright and Billy felt dizzy.

Cassie’s voice rang out through the stalls then, and the aisle lights flickered on. “Billy? Jesus Christ, did you _sleep_ in here?”

Teddy looked at Billy questioningly and the dark-haired boy shrugged. “Cass! Sleep isn’t exactly how I would put it, but the damn foal’s nursing now so I guess it was worth it!”

Her face appeared over the stall partition. “Well, shit. Hey, Teddy.”

Teddy waved weakly. “Hi, Cassie.” He stood and brushed shavings off of his jeans awkwardly. “I guess I better get going now that everything seems to have settled down. You’ll give me a call if things start to get hairy again?”

“Uh, yeah, thanks again for your help, Teddy. I really appreciate it.” Billy nodded and fumbled a parting handshake.

The blond boy hurried out of the stall then, acknowledging Cassie briefly. Billy visibly deflated with the sounds of Teddy’s footfall on the concrete aisle.

Cassie regarded him with a curious look. “So...what just happened?”

“I’m not really sure.” Billy shook his head. “But whatever it was...I think it’s going to be okay.”

\--

The soft sounds of a country ballad filled the aisle as Teddy hummed to himself, the wet sponge against Hulk’s back dripping cool water down his forearms. The sun shone brightly through the barn doors and a warm breeze rolled into the aisle.

“Didn’t peg you for a country music kind of guy.” Billy chuckled and leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed. Hulk blew out a soft snort, and Teddy laughed.

“I like it when I’m with the horses.” He wrung out the sponge into the green bucket in front of the stall. “Welcome to Pine Hollow. What brings you out here on this beautiful spring day?”

Billy shrugged. “I guess I just took a drive and kept on driving. Thought I’d drop by when I found myself in North Salem.”

The smile on Teddy’s face was wide and bright. “Sounds like a likely story.”

Billy was silent for a moment, then rested a hand on Hulk’s damp neck. “How’d he work today?”

“Good, but I don’t think that’s why you came here.”

He could feel Teddy’s blue eyes on him as he ran his fingers through Hulk’s dark mane. Billy laughed softly to himself and shook his head.

“I just wanted to thank you again, for helping me with Speed. And…” his fingers paused, and he turned to meet Teddy’s gaze, “I wanted to ask you if we’re okay now, you know, after everything. You left kind of abruptly when Cass showed up.”

He breathed a sigh of relief when Teddy nodded, slowly. “Yeah. I think we’re okay.” He smiled, differently than before, softer and warmer.

Billy gave a lopsided grin in return, leaning towards him unconsciously. “So, what do we do now?” Teddy raised an eyebrow, and Billy’s mind scrambled. _Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he likes you_ that _way! Don’t make it look like you’re expecting something to happen!_

“ _I mean_ , now that we’re friends again,” he added quickly, with a nervous chuckle. “I’m thinking slumber parties. I know where the barn manager keeps all the toilet paper?”

The sound of Teddy’s unrestrained laughter made Billy’s stomach explode with butterflies. “As fun as TP’ing the barn sounds, maybe first you could come take a look at a couple of the young horses I’ve been working with? It would really mean a lot to me to get your opinion.”

Billy nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that. I’ve got time.”

“Okay well, help me get this monster back in his stall and then we can start with Captain, I can guarantee that you’ve never met a bigger asshole than _this_ horse…”

Teddy’s beaming smile would have to be enough for now.


	4. Madrid, Spain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy wins his first Grand Prix, and he and Teddy contemplate a statue alone in a plaza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wrote itself like so much word vomit, and have a "you're welcome" and an "I'm sorry" in advance.

“And when we get there, we’re going to be stabled in Barn 3. Do you want to look over the grooming schedule? I’ve got Karolina on Wednesday-Friday-Sunday, Chase got Thursday-Saturday-Monday, and we’re set to roll right on through to Hamburg afterwards.”

Cassie looked at Billy over her sheaf of papers and scowled. “Billy? How the fuck are you supposed to approve any of this when you’re not even listening to me?”

A giant pair of noise-canceling headphones sat over Billy’s ears in the neighboring airplane seat, and the dark-haired boy snored softly.

Cassie sighed and prodded his shoulder gently. Billy awoke with a loud snort.

“Geez, Cass, I barely got any sleep on this flight. What was that for?” He pulled the headphones down around his neck and pouted.

“What, were you having a nice dream about a particular blond?” Cassie gave him a suspicious look and he shook his head violently.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, my entire grooming staff is blond. Oh God, I collect blonds.” Billy covered his face with his hands and Cassie laughed uproariously.

“We should have seen it coming.”

Billy tugged his headphones off with a sullen look and stashed them in the seat pocket, sitting up. “I told you, it’s not like anything actually happened. We just sort of...told each other we were gay and that was really that. I’ve been back to Pine Hollow twice already to help him with that brat Captain and he doesn’t do much except bat those pretty blue eyes at me.” He stuck out his tongue. “And wear those great jeans. Where did he get those jeans? Why don’t I look that good in jeans?”

“What does Greg think about you helping with one of his horses?” Cassie quirked an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem like a great idea given that guy’s track record with you.”

Billy sighed. “He doesn’t exactly...know. I got lucky the first time I came around that he just happened to be off property, and since then we’ve kind of planned to meet up whenever Greg isn’t there.”

“The plot thickens,” Cassie said dryly. “Hey, so remember how you told me that you wanted to see a flamenco show while we were in Madrid?”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, I got us tickets for Saturday night after the Grand Prix, at Casa Patas. A friend of mine went a few years ago and said it was awesome.” Cassie smiled teasingly. “I _might_ have gotten an extra ticket…”

Billy pinked. “Please tell me you didn't.”

“Oh come on, a whole bunch of us are going. It's not like it's gonna be a date or anything like that. Unless you want it to be, and then you guys could just sneak off afterwards. I hear Madrid has a really bumpin’ nightlife.” Cassie giggled as Billy began clobbering her with his headphones. “After all, Chase is on barn duty _all_ night—ow, stop it!”

Across the aisle, Pietro shot the both of them a warning look. Billy suppressed a snort of laughter. “See, we’re getting reprimanded by the master and commander. Keep your bad ideas to yourself.”

The intercom sounded and they looked at each other gleefully. “Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent into Madrid-Barajas International Airport, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you.”

“I can’t wait to finally get off this damn plane.” Billy stuffed his headphones into his backpack and grinned.

“You mean you can’t wait to see Teddy.” Cassie smirked.

Billy shrugged noncommittally, but inside he buzzed with anticipation. It was the widening grin on his face that gave him away, and Cassie rolled her eyes.

“Flight attendants, prepare for landing.”

\--

“Earth to Altman, I repeat, Earth to Teddy Altman.”

Teddy shook his head and glanced ruefully at his new groom, Nico Minoru. She stood impatiently at the door to their stabling assignment at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, and at the end of the lead rope she held was Hulk, still decked out in his full protective shipping gear from the quarantine facility. “Sorry Nico...I’m just not really used to you being here, is all. I’m used to doing all this stuff for Hulk myself, you know, him going with the shipping company as usual and me showing up at the venue to meet him.”

“And something always gets left behind, or plans get messed up like they did in Shanghai. You don’t want him in quarantine for longer than necessary again just because of another mishap, do you?” She regarded him with an look that could freeze.

So things _had_ gotten a little hairy in Shanghai, but it wasn’t because Teddy couldn’t handle the arrangements without his own personal groom; there was always plenty of Pine Hollow staff on hand that he and Hulk had oddly never really needed it. Teddy had simply forgotten an important piece of Hulk’s travel papers while otherwise distracted by the delicate situation he had going on with Billy at the time.

That was decidedly resolved now, but Greg had been angry enough to shackle him to Nico for the remainder of the GCT. The paranoid side of Teddy still couldn’t be too sure if she was actually meant to prevent another travel hiccup or if she was there to monitor his interactions with Billy.

“So...do you want to put him away? Or do you want me to? Or what do you want me to do now?” Teddy waved his hands helplessly at her. “ _Wow_ I’m bad at this.”

Nico flipped her jet black ponytail over her shoulder coolly and patted Hulk’s nose. He nickered softly to her and Teddy felt slightly jealous. “I’ll take his shipping gear off and get him settled. You just...I don’t know, do whatever it is international showjumpers do when they’re not riding.”

“Take care of my horse, that’s what I do,” Teddy muttered as he walked away from Hulk’s stall, and pulled out the crumpled sheet of paper with the stabling assignments. _Might as well figure out where Billy is and say hi._ He had just smoothed out the wrinkles enough to be able to read the diagram when he heard the clip-clop of hooves on the concrete aisle.

“Hey, Teddy.” The voice was soft, but unmistakable.

A smile spread over Teddy’s face and he looked up, stuffing the paper back in his pocket hastily. “Billy! How was the trip?”

Billy shrugged. “Eh, it was fine, I guess. Didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked, but I’m happy to be off the plane. And my girl looks like she made it here and through quarantine no problem, so no complaints here really.” He touched Delilah’s nose fondly with his free hand, and she snorted into his palm with equal affection. “How about you?”

“Well, I uh, got a groom? So the trip was fine but I haven’t had anything to do since I got here.” Teddy rubbed the back of his neck and looked over his shoulder at Nico and Hulk. “It’s been...weird.”

Billy cocked his head. “Are you trying to tell me that you’ve been traveling internationally with Hulk all this time _without_ a grooming staff? How...is that even possible?” He caught himself and frowned. “Sorry, was that a really spoiled brat thing to say?”

Teddy shook his head and smiled. Ever since they’d reconciled, Billy had been very careful not to come off as too privileged or ignorant towards him, and admittedly, Teddy found it kind of cute.

“No, don’t worry, I’m definitely the weird one here. I’m not really sure how I’d gotten away with it for as long as I did, but it was nice taking care of Hulk on my own while it lasted.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Nico is uh...kind of overbearing.”

Billy laughed. “You’ll get used to it. Cass is a straight up pain in my ass but I love the shit out of her.”

“Wow, I heard that.” Cassie poked her head over the stall door behind them and stuck out her tongue. “Love you too, asshole. Everything’s ready to go for your little princess.”

“So I guess we’re stabling neighbors this round, huh?” Teddy watched as Billy led Delilah into the stall Cassie had prepared and removed her halter.

“Looks like it.” Billy smiled at him warmly and Cassie rolled her eyes.

“Oh my God, get a room.” The dark-haired boy turned an adorable shade of red and Teddy laughed awkwardly, running a hand through his thick blond hair.

Cassie exited the stall with her arms full of shipping boots, Delilah’s sheet draped over her shoulder. She looked at one boy, then the other, and let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ll be back in a bit to feed. See you boys later.”

Billy coughed and fiddled with Delilah’s mane. By this point, Teddy knew well that this was a dead giveaway of the other boy’s nervousness. It piqued his interest, and he drew closer to the stall, resting an elbow on the door and leaning in.

“So uh, got any plans this weekend?” Billy didn’t look up as he spoke, his restless fingers leaving a row of tiny braids in their wake.

Teddy chuckled. “You mean besides the Grand Prix on Saturday? Because I’d call that a pretty solid plan.”

He didn’t think that it was possible for Billy to turn redder. “Ah, well, yeah, duh, we’re definitely doing that on Saturday, but um, Cassie got tickets for a bunch of us to go to a flamenco show instead of the afterparty, and uh, there’s a ticket for you if you want to go? I mean, you don’t have to, we just have an extra one.”

It was Teddy’s turn to pink. “Oh, wow, that sounds awesome.” He smiled. “Yeah, I’d love to come. Thanks for the invite.”

Billy’s shoulders sagged with relief and he smiled back brightly. “Great! It’s kind of been something I’ve been wanting to see for a while, so I told Cass since we’d be in Madrid this year for the tour anyway, we should just do it.”

“Cool, I’m really looking forward to it.” Teddy held Billy’s gaze for a moment, then averted his eyes nervously. “Well uh, I think I better go check in with Nico about Hulk. I’ll see you later though?”

“Yeah, definitely! See you later, Teddy.”

As Teddy turned and walked back towards Hulk’s stall, his stomach flip-flopped. _It’s not a date. It’s not a date._ _It’s just like, a group hang after the Grand Prix. Super casual, like the beach day in Miami._

The beach day in Miami where Teddy would have almost certainly tried to kiss Billy had Greg not called and interrupted.

_Shit, shit, shit._

“Are you okay, Altman? You look sick.” Nico wrinkled her nose at him over the stall door, a brush in her hand.

Teddy waved a hand dismissively and shook his head. “I’m fine, just uh...jetlagged.”

Her expression was skeptical, but she said nothing and continued brushing Hulk’s gleaming dark bay coat.

“Hey Nico, why don’t you get the tack stall set up and let me brush him? I can’t mess that up, right?”

She shrugged and tossed him the brush. “Whatever.”

When she was gone, Teddy let out a long, heavy sigh and pressed his forehead into Hulk’s neck. _Does he want it to be a date? Do_ I _want it to be a date?_

The giant craned his nose around to nibble gently at his golden hair. Teddy laughed despite himself and touched Hulk’s nose with a rueful smile.

“I’m in trouble now, aren’t I boy?”

\--

“Three riders are going into the Stark Industries Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Madrid jump-off, ladies and gentlemen! What an exciting conclusion to the fourth event of this summer tour favorite! €300,000 and valuable points on the line for these riders, all sitting in the top ten in the overall rankings.”

Billy swallowed hard as Delilah danced under him. Dane looked up at him and winked, one hand resting lightly on the reins. “Let’s bring this one home for Genosha, okay?” He patted the mare’s dampening neck. “Can’t let Pine Hollow keep grabbing all the glory.”

Dane had reason to push him; Shanghai had been a disaster for Billy and Delilah. Riding distracted, they had dropped three rails in the first round and taken twelve penalties to a disappointing 20th place finish. To add insult to injury, both Greg and Teddy had finished in the top ten, securing Greg’s spot at the head of the leaderboard.

“Our jump-off will begin with the current ranking leader, Greg Norris on Fossegrim.”

Billy couldn’t watch, but locked eyes with Teddy instead, who was already off of Hulk and standing on the sideline. He had one rail down and the four penalties that came with it, but with the second-fastest time in the penalties he was still guaranteed fifth place. The blond boy’s smile and wave made him more nervous than he had been before, and he swung Delilah around to face the grandstands.

He heard the clunk of a rail and a groan ripple through the crowd.

“And it’s 37.82 seconds and one rail down for Greg Norris and Fossegrim, guaranteeing at least third place! It’s been a long day for these riders and that big double combination has been causing all kinds of trouble. Next in the ring will be Kamala Khan, riding Ms. Marvel.”

Ms. Marvel rubbed the top rail of the first jump in the double combination with a back leg, but the rail wobbled and stayed up. Billy willed himself to breathe.

“A clear round for Kamala Khan and Ms. Marvel, clocking in at a respectable 38.36 seconds and putting her in the lead! Our final rider of the day will be Billy Maximoff on Wiccan’s Epona.”

Billy clucked Delilah forward into the ring and she picked up an easy canter. The crowd quieted and like always, all he could hear was the rhythm of her breathing, the drumming of her hooves on the ground. When they came into the double combination, he muttered, “Come on girl, you can do this!” and stretched out over her neck, pivoting on his knee out of the saddle as her back began to round over the jump.

There was a whoosh of air, and all at once they were galloping to the second jump in the combination. A smile spread across Billy’s face as they raced to the final fence and cleared it with centimeters to spare.

“Oh! And that’s it ladies and gentlemen! That'll be enough to secure the win here in Madrid for Billy Maximoff and Wiccan’s Epona, a blazingly fast clear round at 37 seconds flat!”

Billy was breathless as he exited the arena and swung out of the saddle, his feet hitting the grass with a soft thud. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Delilah, laughing into her sweaty neck, and the mare pinned her ears and started backing away with a snort.

“Sorry, girl, got a little too excited,” he gasped, and suddenly Cassie and Dane were there, crowding around him. He handed Delilah’s reins to a groom—he thought it was Chase Stein but all those blonds looked the damn same—fielding hearty slaps on the back and shouts of congratulations.

“Gonna buy you a fucking _pitcher_ of sangria tonight!” Cassie laughed as she hugged him tightly. “Your first international gold medal, I'm so proud of you!”

Dane nodded, his smile beaming. “You definitely deserve it, what a ride! Delilah didn't even come _close_ to touching that rail. She jumped her little heart out for you today.”

Billy looked up into the stands and saw his grandfather and uncle in the owner’s box, both waving frantically at him. But it was Teddy’s broad grin and thumbs up from down the sideline that stood out from the commotion. Even as he accepted a leg up from Dane for his victory lap, he couldn't take his eyes off of Teddy.

_Once I get down from here, I’m going to have to face a whole different kind of obstacle tonight._ Billy shook his head to chase the negative thoughts from his mind and turned his attention back to the cheering crowd, the navy and white ribbon fluttering from Delilah’s bridle, the champion’s sash draped across his chest.

_Might as well enjoy feeling like a winner while I still do._

\--

Billy walked down the narrow, dimly lit street with Cassie, hands tucked into the pockets of his olive field coat to hide from the cool spring night breeze. “Are you sure this is the right way? Looks kind of...shady down here.”

She tugged at his arm impatiently. “Yes, I know exactly where we’re going. It’s fine, Billy, don’t be such a weenie.”

“I just don’t see why we couldn’t have waited for everyone and gone together,” he grumbled.

“Because it would be a lot more obvious that we’re missing if there had been a sudden mass exodus from _your_ victory afterparty.” Cassie pulled out her phone for a map, the screen illuminating her irked expression.

“Okay, like I didn’t mean for it to be _my_ victory afterparty, it just sort of shook down that way, and yeah Granddad is probably going to be pissed that I’m not there to schmooze whatever new client wants to throw me a multi-million dollar horse next—you know, I hate European streets, is this a street? Is it an alley? What is it? Can you even drive a car down this thing?”

“Billy, if you don’t stop babbling, I’m going to smack you.”

“Sorry, just uh, a little nervous.” Billy paused and looked down at the cobblestone. “Do I look okay?”

Cassie’s expression softened and she patted his chest. “You look very handsome.” She winked and added, “Very kissable.”

Billy reddened. “Oh, shut up, you.”

“Ah, found it!” They slowed to a halt in front of red double doors, tinted yellow by two spotlights overhead. Tommy, Kate, and Eli already stood in front, huddled together like penguins.

“Pretty unassuming looking for the best flamenco in the city,” Kate quipped skeptically in greeting.

“Oh, just you wait.” Cassie grinned. “It’s going to be amazing.”

The sound of running footsteps behind him caused Billy to turn and look over his shoulder at a very red-faced Nate. “Hey guys, look who I found wandering around on my way over!”

And there he was, tall, golden-haired, with a deep-dimpled smile on his face, wearing those _jeans_ and a clingy knit henley with the sleeves pushed up, a duck jacket draped over the crook of his elbow. Billy’s stomach took a nosedive straight into the ground and he suddenly felt light-headed.

“Sorry I’m late, it took forever to get away from Nico and Greg, and then I kinda just...got lost.” Teddy rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. “But I’m here now?” He made eye contact with Billy and his smile softened. “Hey, Billy.”

The lamplight glinted off the row of piercings down his ear, framing his face with a warm glow. Billy fought the urge to curl up into his coat and hide. “Hey,” he croaked back, but before he could say another word, Cassie herded them into the building, tickets in hand.

He looked around curiously. “It kind of just looks like a...normal restaurant?” The interior was brightly lit, with wrought iron pillars curling up to the ceiling, a row of dark barstools skirting a marble counter opposite red gingham cloth covered tables.

Eli nodded. “Kind of giving me weird speakeasy vibes though. I bet there’s like a secret door or an underground _lounge_ somewhere—” He pronounced it ‘loonj’ in his best snooty accent and Billy whacked him on the arm playfully.

As if on cue, a red side door opened and a beautiful woman with her hair in sleek black ringlets stepped out. She regarded their group with a cool stare and gestured towards to the door.

Cassie looked nervously around. “I guess...we go in?”

Eli was the first to push past her and through the door, and Tommy shrugged, grabbing Kate’s hand. Cassie followed, handing the silent woman their tickets.

Teddy looked back at Billy and held a hand out. “You coming?”

_OhmyGod, do I take his hand, do I awkwardly touch it, do I just ignore it, whatdoIdo_ —

Teddy’s fingers closed over his while his brain short-circuited, and gently tugged him along. At his touch, Billy felt faint, but quickly came to as his eyes adjusted to the dimness of their new surroundings.

Two dozen or so small round tables embraced a corner stage, where a group of musicians sat in a semi circle open to the audience. Teddy made his way over to a cluster of tables already half occupied by their friends, and Billy dropped his hand, suddenly sheepish. Cassie frowned as they approached, and gestured to an empty table on the other side of Kate.

“Sorry, the tables are tiny, but you guys can sit there together?”

Eli rolled his eyes. “I am totally seventh wheeling this shit right now, aren't I?”

Kate smiled and patted his hand. “Yes, but you're my favorite teammate and I love you, so you sit right here between me and this jerk.” She stuck her tongue out at Tommy.

“She's just mad that I didn't buy her _desayuno_ this morning on my way to the barn, ignore her.” Tommy folded his arms and laughed as Kate continued to pout.

“I just wanted him to bring me churros!”

Billy sat down across from Teddy and shrugged. “I didn't get any churros either.”

Teddy smiled. “Sounds like a missed opportunity.” He was quiet for a moment and then caught Billy’s eye. “Maybe we can get some together afterwards?” His dimples were more pronounced in the low candlelight and Billy’s stomach fluttered. He nodded, swallowing nervously.

Their drinks arrived then, and as promised Cassie plunked an entire pitcher of sangria down onto their table. “For the Grand Prix champion of Madrid!” Billy turned red as his friends erupted into impromptu toasts. Thankfully, soon the musicians began to riff on their instruments and everyone settled into their seats for the show to begin.

Billy sipped at his glass of sangria as the first dancer took the stage, a handsome man wearing a waistcoat. The _cantaor_ began to sing, an insistent, haunting cry, and the dancer’s movements were all at once staccato and fluid.

He heard Teddy whisper, “This is pretty cool, huh?” and felt him lean in closer across the table.

Billy nodded. “I just can’t believe how beautiful it is.” The dancer grew frenetic, the clacking of his heels on the wooden stage more urgent. They were close enough to see the beads of sweat on his forehead, his impassioned expression.

“Yeah, me neither.” Billy could feel Teddy’s eyes on him, as pressing as the _cantaor_ ’s song. His ears burned and his heart drummed unrelentingly in time with the clapping of the musicians.

At least he had until after the show was over to figure what to do about it. He took another deep drink from his sangria, and after some thought, refilled it from the pitcher for good measure.

\--

“Okay, I admit, that was really awesome,” Kate relented, met with a vindicated crow of laughter from Cassie. They stood outside Casa Patas, letting the night breeze cool their bodies, still breathless and feverish from the sheer intensity of the performance they had just witnessed.

Tommy stretched languidly and draped an arm around Kate. “So, where are we going now? It’s still pretty early, and nobody’s got horses in the events tomorrow. Shall we hit the club or something?”

The group began chattering excitedly about the different options of nighttime activity available to them, and Billy yawned, tucking his hands into his coat pockets and shivering. “I don’t know guys...I am really exhausted. Some of us, oh I don’t know, rode in one of the most nerve-wracking competitions of their lives today? I could really use the shut-eye.”

“Oh come on man, don’t be such a wet blanket,” Eli whined. “We’re literally spending the entire summer traveling the world, we might as well make the most of it.”

Cassie nodded enthusiastically, her arm linked with Nate’s. “Yeah, and Chase has night duty so it’s not like we have to be worrying about the horses.”

Billy couldn’t stifle the body-shuddering yawns that were coming hard and fast. “No, seriously, I think after drinking that whole pitcher I’m about ready to drop. I’ll take you guys up on it in another city, I promise. Heard the nightlife in Monte-Carlo is _not_ to be missed.” He chuckled and ruffled his own hair sleepily. “But hey, don’t let me stop you tonight. I’ll catch a taxi in Plaza Mayor.” He made eye contact with Teddy then, an almost suggestive look emboldened by the lingering alcohol in his body. The blond boy gave him a nearly imperceptible smile and dropped his gaze shyly.

“Uh, yeah, me too,” Teddy said quickly, inciting a raised eyebrow from Cassie. “It’s been a long day, you know, with the Grand Prix and all. I’ll catch a ride back with Billy, but it was really nice seeing you all again. Hope we can do it again soon?” He shifted uncomfortably and stuck his hands into his jeans pockets. Billy imagined a flush on the back of his neck in the dim light.

Cassie continued to eye Teddy suspiciously while Kate made an indignant face, placing her arms akimbo. “Wow, it’s like people forgot we had Global Champions League finals today too, but me and Eli are sticking it out, right Eli? You guys are losers.”

“Okay, we’re leaving now before Kate bites my head off.” Billy laughed as she huffed in response. “I’m sorry! Good night, you guys.” He looked at Teddy and nodded. “Shall we?”

“Aww, come on, really?” Tommy called after them as they began to walk away. “You’re just gonna leave? We are going to have _so much fun_ without you!”

When they were out of earshot, Billy buried his face in his hands, laughing and shaking his head. “God, my brother is so annoying, isn’t he?”

“Especially when he’s drunk, which might be all the time.” Teddy snorted. “I’m just going to chalk it up to never seeing him outside of purely social situations.”

“That’s still not a good sign, I think.” Billy looked over at Teddy and smiled. “Hey uh, thanks for walking me back. I’m pretty beat, and there was no way I was letting those guys drag me out any longer tonight. They’re known to get a little wild.”

Teddy shrugged, averting his gaze and trying to hide the grin on his face. “I figured it’d give us a chance to grab those churros, maybe? I know a place near Plaza Mayor that’s open all night and it’s on our way.”

Billy reddened and fidgeted with the button on the pocket of his field coat. “Oh, yeah, that...sounds great. We can definitely do that if it’s on the way.”

“You sure you’re not going to fall asleep into the hot chocolate?” Teddy gave him a teasing look. “And you do know these aren’t the same kind they sell at Costco, right? Spanish churros don’t do all the cinnamon sugar crap. It’s just sweet fried bread and you dip them in chocolate.”

“Wow, don’t make it sound so disgusting, Teddy,” Billy joked. “But yeah, that sounds amazing. Let’s do it.”

It wasn’t a very long walk to Plaza Mayor, and they bumped shoulders all the way down the narrow streets, chattering on about flamenco, the number of churches they had passed, and interesting storefronts.

“Did we just walk by something called Museo del Jamón? Because if it’s actually a museum about ham, that’s pretty cool.” Teddy drew close to Billy and nudged him with his elbow gently, the touch electric. Billy gasped softly, then quickly swatted him away, laughing.

“Yeah, um, no. No ham. Yes churros. Are we there yet?” He yawned loudly and then covered his mouth quickly, reddening. “Sorry.”

Teddy shrugged, chuckling. “Don’t apologize, it was cute. Oh hey, it should be up here around this corner. It’s like a little plaza area.” He picked up his pace and ducked into an even narrower street between a bank and a cafe with a large red awning.

Billy jogged to keep up with him, his ears burning. _Cute? Am I cute? Like I-wanna-fuck-you cute or little poodle dog cute?_ He followed Teddy down the street and under an archway lined with little tables that opened to a storefront marked _CHOCOLATERIA_ in big red neon letters.

“Why don’t you grab a table and I’ll get the churros?” Teddy gestured to one of the tables tucked into the corner of plaza. Billy nodded and plopped down unceremoniously with a giant sigh of exhaustion.

While he waited, Billy tried to chase away the negative thoughts that nipped at his mind. He bounced his leg anxiously and tapped the tabletop with his fingers, the other hand tangled tightly in his hair. To his dismay, Teddy returned before he could complete his top-down analysis of what exactly they were doing there tonight— _having churros, dating?_ —or not doing there tonight— _discussing what this is out loud, dating_?

“You’re gonna love these.” Teddy had barely set the platter of golden, gently curling pastries onto the table before Billy grabbed one and dunked it heartily into the white ceramic pot of hot chocolate. His eyes widened at his first bite of the delicate confectionary and Teddy laughed.

“Is it weird to say that I want to swim in a pool of this chocolate?” Billy asked, his mouth full of churro.

Teddy shook his head, yelping as he dripped chocolate onto the table. He took a big bite and smacked his lips. “You're welcome for totally blowing your mind.”

Billy dipped another churro and snuck a glance over at Teddy, who was looking off to the other side of the plaza at the people milling about, every now and then taking a bite of the churro in his hand. They silently people-watched for a moment, the only sound between them the occasional scrape of ceramic against the table as they pushed the pot of chocolate back and forth.

“So, the tour has really kicked off for the summer in a big way, huh? We’re not going to have another long break again until September.” Billy mopped at the bottom of the pot with his agreed-upon half of the last churro.

“Yeah, I honestly can't believe we're doing this. It's probably the coolest thing I will ever do in my entire life.” Teddy’s smile was distant, deep in thought. “I bet you're gonna get really homesick, huh?” He turned to look at Billy then, his blue eyes kind.

“Oh, don't get me wrong, it was really hard to leave Speed behind. Even now he still tries to climb into my lap despite how much he's grown in the last couple weeks.” Billy chuckled and pushed the plate with the remaining half churro towards Teddy. “But everyone else who really matters to me is here on the tour too, so there's not that much to be homesick about.” He smiled, and Teddy flushed.

“Yeah...me too.” He had a wry look on his face as he murmured, “And it’s not like Pine Hollow is really a home worth getting sick for.”

Billy frowned, unsure of how to respond, and after some thought reached over to pat Teddy’s shoulder tentatively. The other boy gave him a grateful smile, and the blood pounded in Billy’s ears.

“Well, uh, on that note, we should probably be getting home. I honestly can’t believe I’m still awake.”

“ _I_ can’t believe we ate all those churros.” Teddy rose and brushed imaginary crumbs from his shirt. “Want to cut through Plaza Mayor and hail a cab from there?”

They wandered back out onto the narrow streets, quieter now in the early hours of the morning. Billy walked close enough to Teddy to see his fleeting breath in the chilly air and catch the lingering smell of hay and horses on his jacket, and it warmed him to his toes. He paused to look around them as they passed under a stone archway into the plaza, suddenly enthralled. Hanging lamps cast a yellow glow on the arcades lining the four corners of Plaza Mayor and Billy marveled at its vast emptiness, save for the streetlamps framing a large statue of Felipe III in the center of the square.

“Look, pony!” Billy raced to the statue giddily, the echo of his footfalls oddly loud in the stillness.

Teddy laughed and rolled his eyes, jogging to catch up with him. “Seriously? You’re like a kid on a car ride through the country pointing out every horse you see.”

Billy had stopped right in front of the statue, his head tilted back as far as he could to look up at it. He scrunched up his nose and squinted. “Felipe III sure had a weird looking horse.”  
  
“Oh, so now you’re criticizing the realism of the artist? That’s not very nice.” Teddy tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and mimicked Billy, dropping his head back to survey the horse in question. “This is sorta uncomfortable. I don’t know why we’re standing so close to this statue.”

“I’m just saying, does this look like any horse you’ve ever seen?” Billy leaned in towards Teddy and turned his head to grin at him. “Do you think if I win the whole GCT, Granddad would let me get a statue of myself like this and put it in the yard?”

“No, definitely not.” Teddy’s smile was dizzying, his arm pressed against Billy’s. He gave him a slight nudge, and Billy nudged back, his body buzzing, blood roaring in his ears.

The smile faded from Teddy’s face as he paused, his expression searching, before he reached over and tentatively touched Billy’s cheek with calloused fingers. Billy swallowed and averted his eyes from Teddy’s intense blue stare, his mouth parting unconsciously as he leaned into the caress.

And suddenly, Teddy’s lips were on his, as gentle as the hand cupping Billy’s cheek. The kiss lasted no longer than a heartbeat, and when it was over they drew back and regarded each other with eyes as large as saucers.

“Um, ah,” Teddy began, quickly dropping his gaze to his feet, a brilliant flush spreading down his neck.

_Oh, fuck it all._ Billy's mind fizzled and he tipped up onto his toes, capturing Teddy’s lips again, his hands grasping urgently at the back of Teddy’s head to draw him closer. He felt the blond boy’s initial jerk of surprise, but then Teddy wrapped his arms around him tightly, deepening the kiss.

His body pulsated against Teddy’s as he parted the other boy’s lips clumsily with his tongue, deafened by the sound of his own heart pounding. When Teddy abruptly disengaged and put his hands on Billy’s shoulders to still him, his breathing was ragged, his lips crushed red.

“Um, I gotta go. I’ll uh, I’ll call you.”

Billy barely registered Teddy’s retreating footsteps as they boomed in the silence of the square, echoing as hollow as he felt.


	5. Cannes, France

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an accident in the warm-up ring, Teddy helps Billy get him out of his system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...did I earn my rating yet?

“Wow, it’s a lot hotter here than it was in Hamburg.” Teddy took a deep drink from his water bottle, reaching down to touch the wet sheen of sweat on Hulk’s neck and grimacing. “Why are we doing all these Mediterranean cities at the peak of summer? We’re going to fry in Monaco at this rate.”

Greg shrugged. “Poor planning by the committee, I guess. You ready to come in for the day? I think they’re in good shape for the Friday qualifier.”

“Yeah, don’t want this guy to get dehydrated.” Teddy swung down from the saddle and Hulk shook himself mightily, sending droplets of sweat flying. Greg scowled and wiped his arm on his shirt.

“Ugh, seriously? Don’t let him do that next time.” He yanked Grim forward by the reins and walked curtly by. Teddy frowned.

“Oh come on Greg, it’s hot out and he’s just having fun with it.” Realizing that Greg was already out of earshot, he shook his head, annoyed, and pulled Hulk’s reins over his head to lead him back to stabling. As they walked, his phone pinged in his pocket and he fished it out eagerly.

> Hey! What are you up to today?

Teddy grinned, despite himself. After their kiss in Madrid, he was surprised to find that Billy didn’t seem to hold it against him for disappearing, and without ever speaking of it again they had settled back into a somewhat uneasy friendship. 

> Not much, just finished my workout for the day. Heading back to stabling now. How about you?

Thinking about the kiss again stirred a warmth low in his abdomen, and Teddy started walking faster, jamming his phone back into his pocket hastily. It had been three weeks since, and he still hated remembering the look on Billy’s face as he pushed him away and fled. There were so many moments in Hamburg where Teddy had wanted to explain why he panicked, to reassure Billy that it had nothing to do with him, that it was _definitely_ not about the sweetly floppy dark bangs that hid those honest eyes or his remarkably expressive mouth—

Teddy shook his head vigorously to clear the thought of Billy and walked Hulk into the wash rack just outside the barn, pulling the saddle and pads off to release a quickly rising cloud of steam underneath. He chewed his lip as he turned on the hose, finding himself unable to stop the churning of his mind.

When Billy kissed him back, it had hit him like so many bricks that suddenly his fantasy was in fact, very real, and with it came the acute, pervasive fear of Greg finding out about them. Teddy frowned as he watched the spray course off of Hulk’s back towards the ocean behind them, the gelding dropping his head sleepily to the concrete. _Even without doing a thing, Greg is somehow managing to control this for me too._

Greg was notorious for doing whatever it took to win, in all aspects of life, and Teddy was well aware that many of his methods of doing so could be heavy-handed, always just shy of crossing the line, with both horses _and_ people. Maybe it was through a sick sense of loyalty that Teddy had turned a blind eye to the more unsavory business at Pine Hollow, but he couldn’t let go of the feeling that he owed Greg for everything: his career, Hulk, each glittering city they arrived at every week, maybe even for just having the chance to meet Billy. Without Greg, he might have become nothing, and the fear of his own inadequacy ate away at him just as much as remaining silent did.

But he had learned how to handle Greg’s moods by now, and no part of him wanted to potentially put Billy in harm’s way. There was just no easy way of explaining that to Billy without raising suspicion.

“Hey, that’s my job now, remember?” Nico draped herself over the white metal railing and pointed to the hose.

“Just because I’ve got someone to do it for me doesn’t mean I don’t still want to do it myself,” Teddy retorted, sweat scraper in hand, the water slicking off of it warmed by Hulk’s body heat. “Maybe Greg could try it sometime. It would probably fix some of his communication issues with Grim.”

Nico laughed. “The communication can’t be too bad if he’s still sitting in the top five.”

Billy’s win in Madrid and subsequent top five placing in Hamburg had knocked Greg out of the top spot, and since then Teddy had noticed a sharp turn in his stablemate’s attitude. He was becoming more erratic in their workout rides, more easily frustrated, more inclined to use his whip. It was getting to the point that Teddy wondered if anyone outside of their team had noticed.

Teddy ignored her and kept on scraping water from Hulk’s coat. She shrugged. “Okay, fine, suit yourself. I’ll be in the barn if you need me.”

When she was gone, Teddy sighed and dropped the sweat scraper into the bucket under the hose, and wiped his hands on the thighs of his schooling breeches. He pulled his phone back out and read the text that had come in from Billy just a few minutes before. 

> Probably heading to the hotel pool with Cass after we finish with Nate and Kang’s class today. It's so hot out! ;p

Teddy flushed, his mouth suddenly dry. _Oh, it's hot out all right._ That now-familiar warmth returned to his abdomen, surging lower than it had been before. He groaned audibly as his mind immediately wandered to an image of a scantily-clad Billy lounging poolside at a fancy hotel there in the French Riviera, not too far from where Teddy stood at that very moment. The sun glistening off of a stomach taut from a lifetime of high performance riding, droplets of water clinging to well-muscled legs, all sensuously framing the object of Teddy’s desire— _Oh my God, I need to stop_ —

Hulk nudged him then sharply, and Teddy snapped out of his reverie with a gasp. He blew out an embarrassed, frustrated breath and patted the gelding’s nose in apology. Evidently, even though _he_ had made a decision to not get further involved with Billy, his body had other ideas.

It was going to be a very long weekend.

\--

“Okay, seriously, why are you still texting this guy?” Cassie snatched Billy’s phone out of his hand and glowered. “Are you a sucker for pain or what?” She made a throwing motion towards the pool with it in her hand, causing Billy to scramble out of his chaise lounge to grab it back from her. Cassie turned and clutched it firmly to her bikini-clad chest, sticking her tongue out in defiance.

“Because—I told you this when we were in Hamburg—I would much rather pine for him secretly than just not have him in my life at all.” Billy looked down at his bare feet and sighed, wiggling his toes anxiously. “I already know what it feels like when we’re not speaking, remember, and I am _not_ reliving Shanghai again. So trust me, it’s better this way, for me and frankly, for my GCT prospects. I’m sure Teddy has his reasons to just want to be friends.”

Cassie shook her head. “And like I said before, I don’t really know what kind of reasons there could be for someone to kiss a person then just be like, ‘oh never mind, I’m just gonna leave now because I’m a total asshole.’”

Billy was silent for a moment and then shrugged. “I think it’s probably got something to do with Greg. I don’t know, he kind of told me once that his job might be on the line if Greg knew about his, uh, _inclinations_.”

“Well, if that’s the case, what is he still doing at Pine Hollow? Those dudes are always bad news. You didn’t see Greg’s ride on Grim earlier today, but it wasn’t pretty. Poor Grim.” She frowned and took a sip of her rum coconut cocktail. “He’s a really nice horse, but he’s not going to stay that way if Greg keeps riding him like that.”

“Sadly, that doesn’t surprise me at all. If Greg treats horses at all like the way he treats people, I’m more surprised that the FEI hasn’t caught wind of it yet.” His grandfather was a former tribunal chair for the governing body for all equestrian sports, the Fédération Equestre Internationale, so Billy had heard about dozens of scandals over the years, from abuse cases to doping charges.

Cassie’s lip curled, and she set her cocktail back down the glass table next to her none too gently. “That’s the thing though...it’s not like he was doing anything he could actually get in trouble for. I don’t think that an FEI judge could have called it excessive use of his whip, but I would have, personally.”

“I’ll guess we'll just have to keep an eye on him and see what he does next, then keep Granddad in the loop.” Billy suddenly made a high-pitched whining noise. “Can I have my phone back now? You’re almost definitely getting sunscreen all over it.”

She tossed it back to him with an eyeroll and Billy wiped it off onto his towel delicately. He checked his texts and frowned, shoving his phone screen in Cassie’s face.

“Okay, what the fuck, I sent him a _flirty face emoji_ when I told him we were going to the pool and I haven't gotten a response for hours! The read receipt says he definitely saw it. What does it _mean?”_

Cassie laughed heartily and finished off her cocktail. “Sounds like you gave the poor boy an aneurysm, that's what I think it means.” She paused and gave him a skeptical look. “Wait, what happened to this being friends thing? Flirty texting doesn’t really sound like a friends thing.”

Billy pinked and stammered, “I don’t know, just in case he changes his mind.”

“I think I need to buy you a drink.” Cassie shook her head incredulously. “You’re a piece of work, Billy Maximoff.”

“How about another glass of that Côtes de Provence rosé we had the other day?” He grinned at her innocently.

“Yeah, only because it’s going on your grandfather’s tab,” she snorted. As she waved over a cabana boy to order his drink, Billy turned his phone over in his hands and fought the sinking feeling in his stomach.

Cassie’s eyes softened at the wistful look on Billy’s face. “Are you seriously planning on never talking to him about that kiss?”

He shrugged. “No. I don’t know. Maybe.” They sat in silence until Billy’s glass of rosé arrived, and he accepted it gratefully, taking a deep drink.

“Even though I don’t fully understand this weird shit he has going on with Greg, I still really like him. I can’t help it. I like everything about him. He’s kind—kinder than anyone I’ve ever met—funny, and so good with the horses. And he’s really fucking easy on the eyes, so there’s that too.” Billy laughed in sardonic amusement despite himself. “I might be martyring myself for nothing, though.”

Cassie was quiet, then afforded him a wry smile. “For what it’s worth, I get the feeling that he likes you just as much as you like him. You guys will sort it out.”

Billy’s phone pinged then, and he grabbed it from where it teetered precariously on the edge of his chaise lounge.

> Sorry to miss it. Liked what I saw in Miami :)

“This man is going to be the death of me.” He tossed his phone onto Cassie’s lap and stood, setting his glass down on the table before taking a running start into the deep end of the pool.

When he surfaced with a gasp, slicking his dripping bangs back out of his eyes, he watched her eyes widen as she read the text. Cassie’s cackle of laughter was the last thing he heard before he flipped over onto his back to float with a deeply frustrated sigh, staring directly up at the sun.

\--

Billy went into the Grand Prix of Cannes on Saturday feeling as relaxed as he ever had, leading the rankings by the smallest of margins but with the satisfaction of knowing that they were barely a third of the way through the tour. He could afford to drop a couple of competitions at this point and still have time to rally before the final event in Doha, scheduled for a mind-blowingly far mid-November. In fact, the impending competition in Cannes was a mere blip on his thought process as he checked over his equipment in the barn aisle.

_Girth tight, check. Stirrup leathers intact, check. Running martingale clipped to D-rings, check. Reins threaded through martingale rings, check. Fly bonnet, check. Front and rear boots, check. God, he said he liked what he saw, does that mean that he wants to touch me as badly as I want to touch him_ —

He shook himself violently with a strangled noise and Delilah gave him an inquisitive nudge.

“All set there, cowboy?” Chase peered at Billy over the mare’s dropped head.

Billy nodded, suddenly embarrassed. “Oh uh, yeah, I think so. Thanks, Chase.” Chase Stein was tall and blond— _like Teddy_ —but his decidedly distinct shaggy hair and cool demeanor stayed the butterflies that consumed Billy whenever he thought of Teddy.

“Aye, captain,” Chase joked, and led Delilah to the mounting block just outside of the barn. Billy swung up into the saddle and slid his feet into the stirrups.

The groom looked him over carefully, checking buckles, keepers, and clips for security. “Hey, no whip for her, right?”

Billy shook his head vigorously. “Oh no, definitely not. I’m glad you remembered, because this crazy mare can’t even really _see_ a whip without flipping out. Allegedly it was an incident from before we got her, but that’s pretty much all we know about it.” He gave Chase a friendly smile. “Thanks again, man. I’ll see you in there.”

Chase saluted him and ambled back into the barn. Just as he turned Delilah to head towards the arena, Billy suddenly got the peculiar feeling that he was being watched, and looked over his shoulder warily.

After a moment of tension, he decided that there was nobody there after all, and began walking Delilah leisurely towards the oceanfront arena. Her back swung relaxedly under him as the cool sea breeze blew past.

“Well hello there, Mr. Ranking Leader.”

Billy turned in his saddle to look back at Teddy— _the hot blond_ —and smiled, placing a hand on Delilah’s rump to support himself as she continued to walk forward.

“Feels pretty good, not gonna lie.” Delilah picked up a nervous trot at her rider’s unbalanced position, and he turned back around quickly. “Sorry, girl.”

Teddy clucked Hulk forward to ride alongside them, maintaining a safe distance as Delilah’s ears pinned to her head threateningly. “I can definitely imagine that it feels good to have knocked the former leader down a peg, literally,” he said in a hushed voice, then commented out loud, “She doesn't like us much, does she?”

Billy scratched her neck soothingly and she visibly relaxed, her ears pricking back forward. “She's a mare. She doesn't like strange horses, but if we’re being totally honest, she doesn’t like _anything.”_ He laughed at his own joke and then glanced at Teddy teasingly. “So, ready to do this thing? You're also within a stone’s throw of number one, so I guess I better start watching my back.”

Teddy shrugged. “Hulk isn't handling the heat super well, so I'm not expecting much through this stretch of Mediterranean cities. It's just a little too hot out for the big heavy warmbloods, huh big guy?” As if to accentuate his point, he reached down to touch the gelding’s thick neck, which was already darkening with sweat just from the short walk to the arena.

“Oh man, that’s a tough break. But there’s plenty of time to make up ground once we head back up to Paris. The weather will be a lot milder in the cities after that for sure. It’ll probably even be cold by the time we hit Rome in September.” Billy smiled. The feeling of projecting being in the same place together four months into the future was unexpectedly intoxicating.

Teddy beamed. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Yeah, you know what _I’m_ not looking forward to? This sand arena. I hate these deep beachfront venues, I’m telling you.” Billy looked back at Teddy as the other boy laughed, and his smile turned moony. He found himself dying to ask him about the text, what he meant by it, whether it meant he regretted running away in Madrid, or if he wanted to be together now, or maybe he just wanted to actually _talk_ about it for once—

“Let me get that gate for you. Billy? Hello?” Suddenly they were already at the arena, and Cassie was giving him a barbed look as she held the in-gate open. “Are you going to go in? You’re holding up the line.”

“Wow, Billy, already checked out of the GCT the minute you get the top spot,” Teddy joked from somewhere behind him.

Billy flushed a brilliant red and urged Delilah forward into the arena hastily, muttering a half-hearted thanks before trying to get as far away from the in-gate as quickly as possible. Delilah picked up a forward trot and her ears perked as soon as she caught sight of the warm-up jumps set up in the arena.

Billy circled her at the opposite end of the arena, watching Teddy out of the corner of his eye. He was still keeping Hulk at a large-striding walk, probably to conserve his energy in the heat. _Get your attention off of him and warm up your horse,_ he reprimanded himself sharply. _Do your job and worry about him later._

They took the first warm-up fence at a steady trot, Delilah starting to prance excitedly. He allowed her to canter away from the jump, and she settled into a rocking, rhythmic gait. It was such a soothing pace that he had always thought he could fall asleep to it, and she locked onto the warm-up fence again to sail over it so dreamily that Billy barely budged out of the saddle.

All of a sudden, Billy saw Greg galloping up beside him out of the corner of his eye. He felt Delilah tense even before he saw her ears pin flat, and she turned to snake her head at Grim, teeth bared.

“Hey, Greg! You’re too close, she's going to—”

Billy swore he saw the flash of Greg’s whip before Delilah reared up, her eyes wild with fear, striking the air violently with her front hooves. With a loud cry, Billy was thrown to the ground with a bodily thump.

\--

“Oh my God, _Billy!”_ Teddy pulled Hulk up hard and jumped off, one hand on the reins to drag the gelding behind him. “Someone grab Delilah!”

“I'm on it!” Cassie had leapt the barrier and ran after the mare, who was racing around the arena frantically. She had broken her reins when she reared, and they flapped uselessly in the wind.

When Teddy got to Billy, Dane was already there. To his relief, the dark-haired boy was sitting up, gingerly poking at a badly scraped elbow and coughing sand.

“Well, I guess I'm not mad about the sand arena after all,” Billy joked ruefully. “Definitely broke my fall real good. I'll just be spitting up grit for a while.”

“Think anything’s broken?” Dane looked over him with concern. “Your uncle is talking with the stewards. It's up to you if you think you can still compete.”

Billy shook his head. “No, I think I'm fine. I landed on my arm mostly but I don't think it's broken, just banged up a bit. Did someone get Delilah?”

Teddy looked up and saw Cassie wave at him from across the arena. A couple of other riders had dismounted to help her corral in Delilah, who stood quietly at the end of her broken reins, now firmly clutched in Cassie’s hand.

“Cassie’s got her. Don't worry, I don't think she's hurt at all.” Teddy looked at Billy worriedly. “Are you sure you're okay? That was a nasty spill.”

Billy nodded. “Yeah. Dane, can you let the stewards know I'm totally fine? I just want to get this arm bandaged real quick and check Delilah over before I get back on.” He reached up and Teddy bent to help him stand. Billy smiled at him gratefully and gripped his shoulder to pull himself into a standing position.

The medic made his way over then, as Billy was still getting his bearings. He continued spitting globs of sand as his arm was bandaged, hissing when the medic dabbed his scrape with antiseptic. Teddy hovered over him the entire time, his blue eyes fraught with worry.

“I'm fine, Teddy,” Billy murmured quietly, reaching over to touch his hand. “I promise I'm okay.”

“What happened?” Teddy searched Billy’s face. “I saw Greg ride up close to you?”

Billy grimaced, then nodded reluctantly. “He came up too close and Delilah went to attack Grim, but then I think he showed her his whip and she freaked. She doesn't exactly handle whips well. But everything happened really fast and—”

“Is that something Greg would have known?” Teddy’s expression was deathly serious.

“Um, I guess I'm not really sure how he could have known, other than the fact that I don't carry one when I ride her. Teddy, what are you trying to say?” Billy tilted his head and frowned deeply.

“Nothing, I'm just glad you're okay.” Teddy pulled him into a brief half-hug and sighed.

When Billy finally walked over to where Cassie was standing with Delilah to check her legs for injury, Teddy allowed himself to feel the rage that had threatened to boil over from the moment he realized what had happened.

Greg was dismounted at the rail, talking to Loki casually while he waited out the delay. Teddy strode over to them purposefully, his expression murderous.

“Hey, Greg, what the _fuck?”_

He turned and Teddy rounded on him, pointing a finger angrily in his face. “You did that on purpose. I saw you.”

Greg shrugged innocently. “How was I supposed to know that Maximoff’s mare was whip shy? Sounds like a training failure on his part more than anything else.” His eyes narrowed. “Sure, maybe I got a little close, but the warm-up arena is tight. It happens.”

Teddy balled his fists up hard, his jaw clenched.

“I sincerely hope your little friend is okay. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him just before the Grand Prix.” Greg looked at Teddy smugly, as if to say, _You can't prove anything, and I know you won't do shit about it._ Loki snickered and Teddy glared daggers at him.

“Don't let it happen again,” he growled tersely, turning on his heel back to where Nico stood holding Hulk. She avoided making eye contact with him as she handed the gelding back off, and Teddy frowned at her before snatching the reins out of her hands.

By the time he got back into the saddle, Billy was already taking Delilah in an easy trot circle around the other end of the arena, Dane nodding his head approvingly. Karolina, one of Billy’s other grooms, must have run a spare set of reins over from stabling because he noticed her standing next to Cassie looking particularly harried. Teddy breathed out a sigh of relief. _He’s okay. Delilah is okay._

For the rest of warm-up, Teddy prickled each time he passed Greg in the arena. He wasn't looking forward to the next time they would have to interact closely, but something told him that Greg was almost certainly going to act like nothing had happened. Especially if it ended up throwing Billy off his game in the Grand Prix.

An overhead announcement came on to warn riders of the impending start time, and Teddy blew out a consternated breath, squeezing Hulk up into a labored canter. _Heat be damned, it's time to go._ For the first time in his life, Teddy found himself rooting against his own stablemate.

\--

“Figured I would find you in here.”

Teddy stood outside of Delilah’s stall, his forearms resting on top of the door. The only signs of Billy were the booted feet by her front hooves and the fingers that twisted restlessly at her mane, his body almost totally obscured by hers.

“I guess you weren't too interested in sticking around for the afterparty tonight either, huh,” came Billy’s muffled reply, his face buried in Delilah’s shoulder.

Teddy shook his head. “Not really. My only consolation is that none of us did particularly well, Greg included, so the rankings won't change much overall.”

“Yeah, I mean, good for Nick on the win. Shield Agent is a nice horse. Damn Thoroughbreds were born to jump in this weather.” Billy laughed drily. “Only going to get worse in Monaco though, huh?”

Teddy grimaced. “Much worse.” He dropped his gaze coyly and smiled. “But hey, maybe then you'll actually invite me to the pool with you.”

He thought he heard a strangled noise coming from behind Delilah’s head, and he chuckled under his breath.

“So...how are you feeling? How's your arm?”

Billy’s feet shuffled in the shavings, and Teddy could just barely glimpse him rubbing at his injured arm. “It's fine. It kinda aches but I sure it'll heal quickly. I'm just really glad Delilah isn't hurt. I don't think I would have been able to forgive myself.”

Teddy cocked his head. “It wasn't your fault though, even if she had gotten hurt.”

He heard Billy sigh loudly, then finally retort, his voice thick with frustration, “If I wasn't so fucking _distracted_ all the time, maybe I would have seen Greg coming a mile away.”

Teddy was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “Do you want to take a walk with me? It's awfully nice out tonight.”

His question was met by an heavy silence that hung in the air uncomfortably.

“Billy? Please say something.”

Billy emerged slowly out from behind Delilah, and even in the low light of the stall Teddy could make out the red rims of his eyes and the faint streak of recent tears. His heart sank at the sight of him.

“Um,” Billy croaked, swiping at his eyes furiously, “yeah, that’s fine.”

They walked out of the barn and into the cool night without a word exchanged between them, the streets quiet save for the occasional cry of seabirds overhead. After they had made it down the road heading from Stade des Hespérides far enough to see the beach, Teddy reluctantly broke the silence.

“I’m sorry.” _For everything. For leaving. For hurting you. For letting him hurt you._

He could see Billy chewing his lip, his eyes shadowed. Teddy could barely hear him speak over the ocean breeze. “I just don’t know why you even want to keep working for that guy. I know you’re nothing like Greg, but he makes you worse.”

They stopped at the edge of the stairs leading down to the beach from Square de Verdun, Teddy at a loss for words. He gestured helplessly for a moment, then sighed in frustration. “Look Billy, I know you don't like him. But...it's complicated. Greg gave me my start. Greg saw something in me that nobody else did. So I owe him for that.”

He gave a snort of derision and continued, “You know I thought it was because he liked me, you know, that way. But in the end, I realized that Greg just likes to control things. He wants to own things that people want, to make them envious of him. Horses, people...it doesn't matter. We’re all the same to him.” He frowned deeply. “But I can't just up and leave Pine Hollow. I can't leave Hulk behind. He needs me.” _To protect him._ Teddy shuddered at the thought of his horse with a different rider, one who may not resist Greg’s training methods as staunchly as he did.

Billy laughed mirthlessly. “That’s such a load of bullshit, and you know it.” He grew quiet, and kicked at the drift of sand across the white concrete steps. “So is that why you just left me there, in Madrid? Because I’m not part of Greg’s plan? Because I would screw everything up for you with him? I’m glad to know I mean so little to you.”

Teddy winced and shoved his hands into his pockets. “You know that’s not true. It’s just...complicated.”

“Well, I’m not complicated, Teddy. We’ve been dancing around this— _whatever this is_ —for weeks. I’m not going to wait around forever until you figure out what you want and you can’t keep sending me flirty texts and expect me to just move on with my life—”

Teddy grabbed Billy without thinking and kissed him, hard and fierce. He struggled weakly at first, but then Billy was kissing him back, with equal force, uncontrolled teeth and tongue in his haste, his hands grasping at Teddy’s shirt desperately.

“I don’t want you to move on,” Teddy gasped, his hands gripping Billy’s waist strong enough to bruise. He dragged their bodies together, his mind so numb with desire that he could barely feel the uncertainty that normally held him like a vise.

Billy slammed both hands onto Teddy’s chest, the look on his face panicked. _“Hold on there, buddy!”_

Teddy immediately dropped his hands, whiplashed. _Fuck, too far, too far, when am I going to stop screwing this up_ —

“What are we _doing_? Why do I feel like I'm always just taking what I can get with you?” Billy shook his head, his expression caught between resignation and— _could he dare to hope_ —wanton need. “No, actually, don't answer that. I don't want to know.”

“Billy, I'm sorry, I really am, I don't know when I'm going to get all _this_ together, but you're right, you and me, we’re simple. I've never felt anything so uncomplicated in my life. You and me, we’re...something I didn't know I could have.” Teddy’s eyes were pleading and Billy’s insistent push against his chest faltered.

Teddy could almost see the gears turning in Billy's head as the other boy chewed on his lip again, weighing his words. “Just to be clear, I'm doing this to get you out of my head once and for all,” Billy warned, his eyebrows furrowed. “It doesn't mean I forgive you.”

“I’m sor—”

Billy tangled his fingers in Teddy’s thick blond hair and yanked him down to his lips, kissing him again with a pent-up fervor. “Stop talking,” he muttered into Teddy’s mouth, “Just stop.”

Teddy groaned low in his throat and reached up with one hand to cup Billy’s cheek, already rough with the day’s stubble. His body throbbed as his tongue stroked deeper into the other boy’s mouth, tasting, exploring, grazing his teeth against the curve of Billy’s bottom lip. Billy’s hands scrabbled at his chest, searching for something to grab onto, settling with handfuls of his shirt.

Teddy pressed himself flush against Billy’s body, his arousal rising steadily between them, his voice caught in his throat. Billy squeaked, gasping against Teddy’s lips, pushing him away abruptly.

“ _Fuck_ , Billy, I’m sorry, uh...” Teddy searched for words, but found none, his eyes drawn to the magnetic pull of Billy’s gleaming, kiss-crushed lips, the color rising pink in his cheeks.

Billy shook his head and murmured quietly, “Just not here.” He took Teddy’s hand, suddenly shy. “Come on.”

Teddy shook his head in disbelief but allowed Billy to lead him down the white concrete steps to the beach, where the sight of a small boatyard dawned realization on him. With a coy smile, Billy looked back at him and nodded towards one of the boats in the far corner, behind which they would almost certainly be hidden from view.

“Wow, it’s like you thought about this ahead of time,” he teased, and Billy pushed him down onto the sand none too gently.

“What did I say about talking?” And then all at once Billy was there, on his knees, clambering into his lap, his lips hot and wet on his neck, those muscular legs straddling his waist and pinning him roughly against the smooth fiberglass of the boat hull behind his head.

Teddy was breathless, looking adoringly up at Billy as he hooked both thumbs onto his hips and drew him down against his lap— _his arousal_ —to show Billy how he was making him feel, the throb of his erection indistinguishable from the pounding of the blood in his ears. Billy made that _fucking irresistible_ squeak again and Teddy knew that he was hard too, his cock straining against his zipper and pressing against Teddy’s belly, too many layers, too much fabric separating their heated flesh.

Teddy thought about what it would be like to touch Billy, even over his clothes, to feel the rock-hard pulse of his cock against his palm. He hissed at the almost painful jolt of electricity just the mere _thought_ sent straight to his own arousal.

Billy paused from the trail of kisses he was leaving along Teddy’s jawline and regarded him curiously. “Is this okay?” His voice was husky with _want_ , his eyes heavy-lidded and his lips parted, swollen from Teddy’s biting kisses.

“Can I touch you?” Teddy could barely string the words together, and they tumbled out of his mouth thick and hoarse.

Billy nodded, cradling Teddy’s face in both hands and crushing his lips against Teddy’s, hungry, intoxicating. Teddy’s hand moved along the sharpness of Billy’s hipbone, brushing his fingers ever so lightly against the gentle upward curve of Billy’s erection, tracing its fabric outline from base to tip.

“ _Fuck_!” Billy bucked his hips forward and stifled a desperate moan. Teddy was delirious as he palmed Billy’s cock, rubbing slowly up the length of it. Billy began to whimper, struggling to catch his breath, bringing his hands up to grip Teddy’s shoulders, fingers clenching and unclenching with each stroke.

Teddy leaned up to capture Billy’s panting mouth, his fingers shoving up the hem of Billy’s shirt before moving to the buckle of his belt. It gave way with a prophetic jangle of metal, and Teddy worked at the button as Billy bit down on his bottom lip, his body trembling with desire. Billy gasped as Teddy dragged the zipper down, slowly, painfully, his cock pressing forward with the freed cotton of his briefs.

He could feel Billy watching him as he slid a thumb under the elastic waistband and snapped it, amused. Billy choked back a throaty moan and all of a sudden, their eyes met. Billy’s dark eyes were glistening, his thick eyelashes fluttering shadows against his pale cheeks.

“Teddy, I really like y—”

Teddy tugged the front of Billy’s briefs down all the way to halt the other boy’s confession hastily. He heard Billy’s sharp intake of breath as his erection bobbed free, hitting Teddy’s belly and leaving a wet mark on the front of his shirt.

He flushed bright red and stumbled over an apology but Teddy was already kissing him again, his laughter stifled against Billy’s lips, his hand coming up to wrap around the thickness— _and it was thick_ —of Billy’s cock. The sound that Billy made was almost a sob. Teddy licked his hand, tasting sea salt, and stroked upwards around the silky length of Billy’s erection with the same pressure he would on himself, tentatively, experimentally, and was rewarded with a deep groan.

“Oh God, Teddy, that feels so _good.”_ But then Billy was fumbling at Teddy’s jeans too, desperately tugging his zipper down.

“Billy, you don’t have to, it’s fine—”

“No, we have to do it together,” he insisted, and pulled Teddy’s aching cock free from his underwear, wrapping his long, slim fingers around it. Teddy choked back a cry and saw stars.

He turned his attention back to the task at hand—which was really _fucking_ hard with Billy’s hand sliding over his dick too—and quickened his stroke. Teddy rubbed the head of Billy’s throbbing cock with his thumb to collect the pearl of pre-come there, a coy half-smile on his face as he watched Billy melt into a back-arching, moaning, sweaty mess in his lap, his fingers curled loosely around Teddy’s erection, distracted and undone. Teddy kissed behind Billy’s ear, tugging on the earlobe gently with his teeth, and Billy bit his lip to keep quiet, tightening his grip on Teddy again.

“G-gonna come,” Billy gasped, thrusting up into Teddy’s hand.

“Do it,” Teddy growled into Billy’s neck, tasting the sweat there. Billy shuddered, a groan low in his throat and _came_ , white hot, into Teddy’s hand and spilling through his fingers into the dark thatch of hair there, his back a slick, tight arch. Teddy had never witnessed anything hotter in his entire life.

Without missing a beat, Billy was stroking him faster and tighter now, and Teddy couldn’t hold back his orgasm long after what he had seen and _heard_. “Billy, wait, oh my God—” He gasped and convulsed as he came, his come splashing onto Billy’s taut, exposed belly.

Billy tilted forward and pressed his lips to Teddy’s forehead, still hot and wet to the touch. Teddy smiled woozily into Billy’s chest, squeezing his eyes shut in silent exhilaration.

“Apology accepted,” Billy murmured against Teddy’s feverish skin. The laugh that rumbled deep in Teddy’s chest was exhausted, but relieved.

“How are we going to get home like this?” Teddy joked, but as he looped his arms loosely around Billy’s waist and drew him close, he realized that he didn’t actually care.

\--

Billy and Teddy met again the next morning, across from each other at the hotel breakfast buffet, a spoonful of eggs halfway to Billy’s plate. They regarded each other with bodies tense, unsure of whether to stay or flee.

_Oh wow, this is fucking awkward._ Billy dropped the metal serving spoon back into the eggs with a clatter. He cleared his throat and pinked.

“Good morning, Teddy,” he said, curtly, formally. His gaze drifted to the croissants sitting on the table next to Teddy’s hip— _crotch, oh my God, I am disgusting, but I need one of those croissants now_ —and he ended up gesturing oddly at them until Teddy grinned, picking one up and plunking it down next to Billy’s eggs.

“Morning, Billy.” Teddy’s blue eyes seemed _bluer_ , more vibrant today, and his smile was like a jackal’s. Billy thought he was going to die of embarrassment right then and there.

“T-thanks,” he stammered, unable to will his body to move, immobilized by the ghost of Teddy’s fingers on his hips.

Cassie pushed past him then, leaning over to pile her plate with ham. She paused for a moment before setting the tongs back into the chafing dish and turning to look at the two boys suspiciously.

“Something is...different...here.” She wagged a finger between them as she spoke. “With this...thing.”

Billy flushed a violent red and muttered something about coffee before hurrying away. Before he went out of earshot, he heard Cassie say to Teddy reproachfully,

“Don't you hurt him.”

Billy didn't hear Teddy’s reply. He sat down at a table and started stabbing at his eggs. Teddy could have said a multitude of different things in response, he mused.

_‘Don't worry about it’ or ‘It's not that serious’ or ‘It’s none of your business’ or_

_‘I love him’_

Suddenly the eggs were choking him and Billy scrabbled at the handle of his coffee cup. As he drank, he thought about how he had tried to tell Teddy how he felt, plain and simple just like he said it would be, and Teddy had seemingly panicked and tried to distract him— _which he had been successful at, too successful_. Billy burned with the memory.

Cassie set her plate down on the table across from him, her expression unreadable. She sighed loudly and ripped her croissant in half with a flourish. Billy swallowed his eggs audibly.

“So how was your night?” Her question was innocuous, but filled with teeth.

“I sort of got, uh, carried away.” Billy covered his face with his hands. “He was apologizing for the Madrid thing and I was like ‘this is fine’ and then _unh_ happened, and _ahh_ happened, and—”

“Why...do I feel like I just walked into something I shouldn't have?” Tommy had approached their table with his overly laden plate while Billy was talking, and his green eyes were wide with morbid curiosity.

“Well, I'm about ready to die now.” Billy mimed plunging his fork into his jugular. Cassie laughed.

“So you had a _good_ night, then.”

“You could say that.” Billy suddenly felt the weight of eyes on him, and looked up to see Teddy’s blue gaze meet his. His body was turned to Loki as the other boy was talking animatedly at him, but he was watching Billy out of the corner of his eye.

Cassie was saying something to him in response, but at that point, the world had reduced to background. The only thing that existed was Billy and Teddy, the pounding of Billy’s heart, and the smile that exchanged between them, thrilling, _secret_.

Billy decided that he would worry about the details later.

 


	6. Principality of Monaco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foul play is almost certainly afoot when Tony Stark gives Billy a horse to work with. Billy and Teddy face their demons, together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter runs a bit longer than my previous ones, but I promise that I've made it completely worth your while ;p

Billy had barely finished unpacking for his weeklong stay at the athletes’ hotel in Monte-Carlo when a knock came at the door.

“Billy? It's Cass. Are you there?”

“Yeah, coming!” Billy tugged on a pair of shorts and scrambled to the door, flinging it open excitedly.

“Cass, did you see the rooftop pool this place has? It's a literal _sand-bottomed lagoon_ on the fucking _roof._ How is that even possible?”

Her solemn expression made Billy’s stomach lurch. “Uh, what’s wrong? Is it Delilah? Did something happen in quarantine?”

Cassie shook her head. “No, no, Delilah is fine. She’s set to be released from quarantine on schedule. You’ve been uh, _summoned_.”

“The fuck do you mean, summoned?” Billy cocked his head and laughed. “Come on, I am dying to check out this pool. Granddad’s had his secretary reserve a private cabana every time he's in town for a show since like, the ‘80s, and I bet it's awesome.”

“Um, your grandfather wants to see you. Says it’s super important, and that you’re not allowed to refuse me.” She frowned. “I’m sorry Billy, I wish I knew more what this was about but I have no idea. I’m just the messenger.”

Billy went very still, thunderstruck. _Fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit he knows he fucking knows about Teddy and I am a fucking dead man._

He could only nod, and gestured to his closet. “Uh, let me just get a shirt on.” Cassie waited as he wriggled into a clean polo, his heart pounding ominously in his chest. _How could Granddad have possibly found out? Is he having me followed? Did he put a tracking device on my phone oh my God that’s it isn’t it he’s been having someone follow me what the fuck_ —

As if she could read his mind, Cassie reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “Hey, calm down. For what it’s worth, he didn’t seem mad about whatever it was, and you know that _I_ know what angry Erik looks like. He said he’s at the restaurant on the seventh floor deck.”

Billy nodded, still uneasy. He followed Cassie out of his room and into the elevator, all the while fighting off suffocating panic. Wringing his hands anxiously with each passing floor, Billy agonized over how he was possibly going to explain this— _goddammit, it’s still a whatever this is_ —to his grandfather.

The elevator dinged on the seventh floor and Billy looked at Cassie, who shrugged, helpless.

“Do you want me to come in with you?”

Billy shook his head. “No, I think I have to do this one on my own.” He stepped out of the elevator and turned to face Cassie, whose deeply frowning face was creased with worry.

“We who are about to die, salute you!” he cried, squeezing his eyes shut for emphasis. He was rewarded by Cassie’s barking, hysterical laughter as the elevator doors closed.

“We’re not even in the right city for that yet, you moron!”

He shook his head, the grin quickly fading from his face, and steeled himself before he opened the glass door to the restaurant. Billy immediately spotted his grandfather after a quick scan of the tables on the lavish seventh floor terrace, and began making his way over to him. Colorful birds sat on perches peppered all around the bright, airy space, and a vibrant blue parrot squawked at Billy as he passed.

“William! How wonderful of you to join us.” Erik had risen from his chair, waving Billy over. As Billy neared him, he immediately realized that they were not alone.

Billy was still warily looking over his shoulder at the irate bird. “Granddad, was that a _parrot_ that just yelled at me…?”

Erik cleared his threat and gave Billy a warning look. “William, I would like you to meet my guest.” The man in the other chair at the table stood and turned to face him then, and Billy’s stomach fell through the floor.

_“Tony Stark.”_ Billy barely noticed that he and his grandfather had spoken at the same time. Tony had a wide grin on his face as he extended his hand to shake.

“Billy Maximoff, it's so nice to finally meet you. I've been keeping an eye on you in this year’s tour and I must say, I'm pretty impressed, and you know I definitely don't say that to everyone.” He gestured for Billy to sit, which he did, his mouth still slightly agape.

Tony gave Billy an appraising once-over, then waved a server to their table. “The Chateau Lafite Rothschild, hmm, let’s say...2009, please.”

“Um, wow, uh, thank you.” Billy vibrated nervously as the wine was uncorked. _That’s like a twelve hundred dollar bottle of wine, what the fuck Tony Stark?_ After Billy had taken a sip of the most expensive beverage he had probably ever tasted, Tony leaned across the table and spoke.

“So, I've got a proposition for you. And I know you're a very busy kid with the GCT going on, but I just feel like you're the one for the job.”

Billy looked at Erik, who nodded encouragingly. Tony continued,

“Here’s the thing, I have a really nice horse that was recently gifted to me in a business deal. Even though Stark Industries is making this whole fancy tour shebang happen for you guys right now, I'll be honest with you, I know jack shit when it comes to horses. Erik tells me that it’s pretty normal for a rider of your level to have a second horse to campaign, and since I’m sure as hell not going to ride him, I'm asking you if you would take this guy on, try him out, see if it's a good fit, then maybe show him in a couple events here in Monte-Carlo?”

“We were thinking the Prix Fédération on Friday and the Prix SBM on Saturday, if your test rides go well with him,” Erik added, putting the rim of his wineglass to his lips in an oddly self-satisfied manner. “And before you protest, I know you’ve got your events with Delilah back-to-back with those, but that’s why you have a full grooming staff to help you juggle both horses.”

Billy gulped, finally finding words, and they gushed forth in his nervousness. “But those are both five star events. Are you sure that you trust me to do this? That’s a lot of money on the line for just a few days for me to get to know him. Why aren’t you asking one of the circuit veterans like Nick Fury or Clint Barton? Nick had a pretty convincing win in Cannes last weekend—”

Tony put up a hand to silence him and Billy’s mouth closed so quickly his teeth clacked.

“You see, kid, I am all about nurturing the future. I see _you_ as the next Nick Fury. Pretty soon he's going to be out and you're going to be running this thing. So I'm looking forward for longevity’s sake, do you get what I'm saying? If you play your cards right, this could become more of a...longtime partnership between Stark Industries and Genosha Farms.” Tony stroked his goatee thoughtfully and looked pointedly at Billy, palms up. “How about it?”

The look on Erik’s face made Billy feel like this was not actually a choice. He opened his mouth, hesitated, and then pursed his lips, choosing his words carefully.

“I mean no disrespect with my hesitance, Mr. Stark...sir, and I’m deeply flattered that you think I’m capable of helping you out here. I’m at least willing to get on him and see how he is for me. If that goes well, I can probably commit to Friday since it’s just qualifiers, but I really can’t promise Saturday because I need to do better here than I did in Cannes to keep my ranking. Delilah’s going to need all of my focus.” Billy looked between Erik and Tony with bated breath. “Do you think we can agree on that?”

Tony cracked a game smile and held out a hand. “I hope that you’ll be dying to take him for a spin on Saturday too once you ride him, but I’m on board with this plan if Erik is.”

Erik nodded his agreement and Billy clasped Tony’s hand, shaking it vigorously. “Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Stark, I'm really looking forward to working with your horse.”

“Yup, hold on a second.” Tony pulled out his phone and checked it, then looked back up at Billy. “I’ve got to run to another meeting now, but my assistant will meet you at stabling first thing tomorrow once the horse gets out of quarantine. Good luck, it’s been a pleasure, Billy. I'll be in the stands on Friday to see what you come up with.”

Billy pinched his leg hard to keep it from bouncing enough to shake the table. Once Tony had left, Erik clapped Billy on the back and smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling with genuine warmth.

“You're moving up in the world, my boy.”

Billy smiled back wryly. _In more ways than you know, Granddad._

\--

“This is War Machine.”

Billy could hear Cassie’s sharp intake of breath behind him as Tony’s assistant, Peter Parker, brought the horse out of his stall and into the aisle, his massive hooves clopping loudly against the pavement as he pranced in place with his head held high. Delilah was by no means a small horse, but he easily dwarfed her by several inches; Billy guessed that he had to be nearly as big as Hulk, one of the largest horses currently on the international circuit, and that fact alone was already intimidating.

“Uh, appropriately named, much?” Billy pressed his palm onto the steel grey gelding’s neck and spread his fingers, marveling at how small his hand looked in comparison.

Peter chuckled. “His previous owners called him Rhodey. He’s Oldenburg, nine years old, and apparently he’s a really sweet guy, but I don't know much about horses so don’t quote me on that.”

“Oh hey, Billy, I got your text! What’s up?” Suddenly, Teddy was rounding the corner, his expression lighting up as they made eye contact. Billy felt his cheeks burn and reminded himself that this was a professional meeting— _strictly professional, no funny business okay_ —and that Teddy was there to give his opinion on the horse and nothing else.

Billy waved him over. “Teddy, this is Peter Parker, Tony Stark’s assistant. He’s here to introduce us to Rhodey, the new horse I’m trying out. Peter, this is Teddy Altman, my, uh—” Billy looked at Teddy nervously then, whose expression struck him as almost expectant, “ _—friend_.”

If Teddy was disappointed, he didn’t show it. He smiled widely and shook Peter’s hand, then stepped back to admire Rhodey, whistling lowly.

“That’s a nice looking horse right there,” he said, bending over to run his hands over Rhodey’s legs as the gelding attempted to dance out of the way.

_And that’s a nice looking ass._ Billy stared unabashedly for a moment but then caught himself, suddenly horrified, averting his eyes as a flush threatened his cheeks. _Great, now I’m a fucking lech. Don’t be creepy._

“So, you ready to get on and see how you like him?” Peter interrupted Billy’s internal panic then, holding out Rhodey’s lead rope impatiently. The gelding snorted loudly and quivered with excitement. “Like I said, I'm not a horse guy, so I'm really just here to deliver him to you. As far as Mr. Stark is concerned, he's all yours from here on out unless you hate him and want to give him back.”

Cassie took the lead rope from him and gave Billy a keen look. “Thanks, Peter. I'll go ahead and get him tacked up for you, Billy.”

“There's just a few things that Mr. Stark said you needed to know about him ahead of time, and I've typed them all up here, feed, supplements, turnout, etcetera. His one notable care item is that he's allergic to alfalfa, so he can't have any feed or treats that contain it.” Peter handed Cassie a portfolio and checked his watch. “I've put my contact information on those as well in case you have any questions, but I've got to report back to Mr. Stark now, if you don't need anything else.”

“I think we’ve got it all under control.” Cassie looked to Billy again, who nodded. “Thanks again, Peter. I'll let you know if we have any problems, but I don't expect that we will.” She clucked to Rhodey and led him down the aisle to the tie next to their tack stall, the giant gelding high-stepping behind her.

When Peter left, Billy became acutely aware that he and Teddy were alone.

“Can't believe that Tony Stark himself just like...gave you a horse.” Teddy couldn't conceal his jealousy, his gaze still lingering on Rhodey as Cassie set Billy’s saddle onto his back and went back into the tack stall, frowning, to see if they had a bigger girth.

Billy chuckled. “First of all, he didn't _give_ me a horse, I'm just trying him out to see if it would work out for me to show him for Mr. Stark. And secondly, I honestly think he should have asked _you_ instead. I’ve been campaigning Delilah for most of my life so I barely have any experience as a catch rider, and everybody knows that you’re basically the king of catch riding. Rhodey looks like he's going to be the complete opposite of what I'm used to and apparently, I have to show him in three days.”

“Well if I’m the expert, then I think we could arrange some private lessons if you wanted.” The teasing lilt of Teddy’s voice went straight to Billy’s groin. Billy swallowed hard and laughed weakly.

“Funny,” he croaked. Teddy leaned in closer to him and Billy froze, his skin prickling from their proximity.

“Hey, I’m glad you texted me because we haven’t really seen much of each other since…well, you know.” Their eyes met, and Teddy’s smile was bashful. “I was wondering when I'd get to uh, see you, again.”

_Wahhhhh he wants to see me again maybe naked this time I am actually going to die of embarrassment right now_ —

Billy could feel his ears burning red and cleared his throat uncomfortably, his hands wringing of their own accord. “Well, we’re both here in Monaco for the rest of the week so I imagine we can find some time to uh, _hang out_ , or...something.”

“Okay Billy, he's ready to go! Fucking took forever to find a 56 inch girth. This horse is a literal monster.” Billy tried to hide his sigh of relief when Cassie walked back over to them, tugging along a curious, very distractible Rhodey. She looked at them both skeptically. “Am I interrupting something, or are we gonna get this show on the road?”

“Coming, Cass.” Billy, suddenly feeling daring, grabbed Teddy’s hand. “Well come on then, you’re going to watch me ride this wild thing, right? Private lessons start now.” The look he gave Teddy then was almost coy.

Teddy looked genuinely surprised at first, but then grinned, squeezing Billy’s hand and sending shockwaves throughout his entire body. “All right, but I’m not going to go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Billy caught Cassie rolling her eyes at him just before she boosted him up into the saddle. He climbed on precariously, groaning as he struggled to swing his leg over Rhodey’s back. “Shit, this horse is fucking enormous.”

“So just be warned, the arena is really tiny because we’re sandwiched between the harbor and the Formula One racetrack. I wasn’t sure if you’d been in it yet,” Teddy said as he and Cassie walked behind Rhodey, who to Billy’s dismay was refusing to walk in a straight line.

“Great, so my first time piloting this mack truck is going to be in the smallest arena on the tour. Awesome.” But instead of the size of it, the first thing that struck Billy when he entered the warm-up ring was the row of yachts facing the arena. He flushed, having sudden vivid flashbacks of pushing Teddy down against a boat hull that threatened to topple him off of his horse.

_Of course we’re set up in a literal fucking harbor, because the universe thinks this is real funny._

To make matters worse, Rhodey spooked at a jump standard the second they walked past, skittering sideways as Billy yelped, “Whoa!” and grabbed a handful of mane to stay on.

Teddy shook his head and laughed, leaning up against the rail next to Cassie. “Bet you’re really glad I’m here _now_ , huh.”

“You’re supposed to be giving me advice, not gloating,” Billy retorted, struggling to bring Rhodey back down to a walk. “But yeah, I am glad you’re here.” He looked over at Teddy, his heart pounding, unsure if it was because of Rhodey spooking or because that was just how Teddy made him _feel_.

Teddy’s smile was more dizzying than Rhodey’s fidgeting, and Billy decided that between the two of them, it was going to be a small miracle if he made it to Friday in one piece.

\--

“As far as I’m concerned, the only good thing about this whole Rhodey situation is all the extra time I got to spend with Teddy in the last few days.” Billy frowned. “I can’t believe I’m actually showing this monster in the Prix Fédération after all the crap he pulled this week.”

The Friday evening premier events had snuck up on Billy too quickly, and thinking about Teddy only made the lurching feeling in his stomach worse. At least spending time with him in a professional setting was easier than the alternative— _people around, clothes on, no expectations, right? I can handle that_ —so Billy had ridden Rhodey in circles around the tiny Port d’Hercule arena, listening dreamily to every story Teddy told of horrifically botched catch rides and the warm, earnest laughter that accompanied their retelling.

Billy got a leg up from Karolina as Cassie stood nearby, instructing him to breathe. “Just relax. Karolina and I have got you covered on both Rhodey and Delilah, and Chase is holding things down at the barn. All you have to do is get on and ride.”

As soon as Billy climbed awkwardly up into the saddle— _literally not ever going to get used to this massive beast_ —he knew that something was off. In all of his workouts with Billy, Rhodey had been too forward, too eager, even fractious, but that night, he was sluggish, his breathing labored, almost wheezing. Billy laid a concerned hand on Rhodey’s neck and frowned.

“Cass, I don't know. He doesn't really seem like himself. Has he been like this all day?” Billy considered dismounting as Rhodey hung his head down listlessly.

Cassie pursed her lips, her eyebrows deep furrows as she studied the gelding. “Yeah, I just thought that since it's super hot today, he wasn't feeling as chipper as usual. It's hard to say for sure though.”

Billy clucked and tapped him with his heels, and Rhodey lumbered forward, his breathing noisy. But then in the next moment, his head was up, and he surveyed the arena with ears alert and swiveling in all directions.

“Now he seems to be okay, I think.” The doubt in Cassie’s voice was obvious, and Billy knew the unspoken part of her thoughts. _And if he isn't, Tony is going to kill us._

As Billy began to trot around the arena to warm Rhodey up, he passed Loki riding Frost Giant, and the other boy regarded him with a curious smile. _Wow, fucking creepy much._ Billy couldn't shake a general feeling of unease even after they had made it to the opposite end of the arena and popped over the first warm-up fence without issue.

Rhodey’s breathing had quieted some, and Billy started to relax. He spotted Teddy at the in-gate standing with Nico, who looked bored, as usual.

“Good luck,” Teddy said to him softly as he rode past. “Just breathe. Let him do his thing.”

Billy just barely caught the venomous look that Nico shot Teddy as he spoke before he was riding away from them again. Something still felt _not quite right_ with Rhodey, but as the announcer came back on, Billy panicked and the only thing left on his mind was the course he had walked with Dane, full of tricky roll-back turns and oddly spaced combinations.

“Ladies and gentleman, our first ride of the Prix Fédération Equestre de la Principauté de Monaco is going to be Billy Maximoff on War Machine.”

Rhodey picked up an aggressive, ground-eating canter as Billy circled him and approached the first fence.

_Up, and clear. Keep it together Rhodey, nice and steady._

They took the first few fences without any trouble, Rhodey a powerful and surprisingly quick jumper for his overly large size. But by the eighth jump, Billy was absolutely _certain_ something was wrong. Rhodey began to labor, his steps weighed down, his pace erratic. He rubbed the rail hard with a back leg and it came down, hitting the arena dirt with a hollow clunk. Billy winced.

_Great, that's one down, and Rhodey is slowing. Fuck fuck fuck why did I agree to this_ —

Billy gasped as Rhodey came to a dead stop in front of the ninth fence, pitching Billy forward and up onto his neck, before rocking back hard onto his haunches to launch over the massive vertical. Billy lost his left stirrup in the shuffle and clipped his leg desperately to Rhodey’s side as they careened to the second fence in the combination.

_Does that count as a refusal? Did he take a step back before he jumped? Fuck fuck fuck shit shit shit where is my goddamn stirrup_ —

He managed to slip his foot back into the stirrup just a split second before Rhodey took off too deep to the base of the oxer. Billy gritted his teeth as he heard Rhodey’s knees slam into the front rail and send it straight into the sand below them.

When they finally crossed the finish line, Billy was red in the face with embarrassment and Rhodey was a sweat-soaked, heaving mess. He dismounted immediately after exiting the arena, and Cassie ran to him with a worried expression.

“Cass, I don't know what happened—”

Cassie took Rhodey’s reins from him and frowned. “I don't think it's your fault. Something's not right with Rhodey.”

Billy shook his head and tried to catch his breath, fighting back tears of frustration.

“Twelve penalties for Billy Maximoff and War Machine, time 51.89 seconds.”

Billy cursed under his breath, wiping sweat from his eyes. “The judges scored that stop as a refusal. He must have taken a step back. God, we were going so slowly. Rhodey had nothing to give me out there.”

Cassie was regarding the gelding with an odd look, her frown deepening. “Forget about it for now. At least this means that you don't have to worry about going back in for the second round and you can just focus on the Grand Prix qualifier. I'm going to take him back to the barn now, so just sit tight and I’ll bring Delilah back with me when I’m finished.”

The rest of the evening seemed to go by in a blur, Billy unable to see through the deep haze of his disappointment. He went through the round in his head over and over, replaying every misstep, every mistake, kicking himself every time. Billy barely even remembered riding the qualifier event with Delilah, even though it was fast round with only one rail down, easily putting them through to the Grand Prix the next day. The only thing that managed to cut through the fog was the ping of his phone as he made his way back to stabling with Delilah in tow.

_Great, it’s Teddy._

> Hey, just overheard Greg saying he was going to talk to Tony Stark about picking up Rhodey after what happened today. I’m really sorry, Billy. I hope you're doing okay. I'm here if you need to talk.

Billy grimaced. _Surprise, surprise, Greg swooping in on my failure like a fucking vulture. And fuck if I'm making shit more complicated for myself by bringing Teddy into it._ He brought Delilah back into her stall and started untacking her himself, despite Karolina’s protests.

“Billy, you have to come see something.” Cassie’s look was grim. “Let Karolina finish untacking Delilah.”

Her expression left no room for argument, and Billy followed her down the aisle to Rhodey’s stall. The gelding’s hay bag sat in the aisleway, propped up against the stall door. Without a word, Cassie reached down and pulled a piece of bright, almost candy green hay out of the bag. One look at the rounded leaves coming off of the stalks made Billy’s stomach sink, and he cursed quietly.

“There’s alfalfa in Rhodey’s hay bag, Billy. This is why he was fucked up.” Her eyes narrowed. _“Chase! Get over here now!”_

Chase hurried out of the tack stall, his face red by the time he got down to them. Cassie thrust the piece of alfalfa in his face accusingly.

“What part of _this horse does not get alfalfa hay_ did you not understand? It’s written on his fucking chart, posted in the tack stall above the supplements, where it always is.”

Chase looked shocked, an expression that quickly gave way to panic. “I swear, Cassie, I did not feed him alfalfa. I checked both his chart and Delilah’s before I fed them last night and this morning. I even said out loud to myself, ‘Rhodey can’t have any alfalfa hay, he’s allergic.’”

Cassie continued to eye him suspiciously and Chase continued, “I would absolutely own up to it if I had accidentally fed him alfalfa, but I swear to God I didn’t. I have no idea how that got there. You have to believe me.”

“Then who the fuck else could have done it?” Cassie threw the hay to the ground in frustration. “What the _hell_ is going on?”

Suddenly that lurching feeling hit Billy’s stomach again, and he gasped, staring at the hay bag on the ground, not wanting to believe it but somehow _knowing_ that it was true. “Oh my God, Cass. I got way too many creepy looks from Pine Hollow people today for this to be a coincidence.”

“Jesus Christ Billy, you aren’t suggesting—”

Billy gave her a look that could cut diamond. “After what happened in Cannes, I don’t put _anything_ past that fucking psycho. His little stunt endangered both me _and_ Delilah, and this is no different. Teddy told me just now that Greg’s going to talk to Tony Stark about taking over Rhodey. This had to have been a set up.”

“Well, what are we going to do about it? We don’t have any proof.” Cassie kicked at the hay bag angrily. “What are we supposed to tell Stark?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think there’s anything we _can_ do.” Billy shrugged, but seethed inside. “Greg is almost certainly going to take a client away from us because of this, and that fucking pisses me off. I guess the best we can do now is swap out Rhodey’s hay for the right stuff and in the very least, make him comfortable until then. He should be back to normal tomorrow, but we should have someone posted at his stall all night, just in case. I can take the first shift.” His helplessness was maddening. _First with Teddy and now with Rhodey....as if I needed more reasons to hate this deranged asshole._

Billy was watching Cassie and Chase dump out the hay bag into the manure wheelbarrow when his phone rang loudly, startling all three of them.

“Fuck, it's Tony Stark.” Billy looked at his phone and grimaced, picking it up as if it were red hot. “Hello?”

“Billy! How's it going?”

“Uh, fine, but I'm guessing you're calling to tell me that I'm done and you're going to start asking around for another rider for Rhodey. I know Pine Hollow wants to make a bid for him, and if that's the case, my rider recommendation over there would definitely be Teddy Altman, and nobody else.” Billy tapped the stall door with his free hand anxiously, the silence on the other end of the line deafening.

Then all of a sudden Tony was laughing into the phone, a grainy bark coming through the speaker. “No silly, you’re so _dramatic_. I was calling to ask if you're set to take Rhodey in the Prix SBM tomorrow just before the Grand Prix. Well actually, I already put in the entry, since I figured that you're just gonna say yes.”

Billy was dumbfounded, and looked over at Cassie and Chase with his mouth open. “Mr. Stark, I mean no disrespect, but are you crazy? We finished _dead last_ today.”

“Kid, I didn't build Stark Industries in a day, and you can bet that I blew up some laboratories before I really got the ball rolling. Consider this your first explosion. Are you in or not?”

Billy hesitated for a moment, but then rage boiled up inside him all over again. He set his jaw and nodded to nobody in particular. “Yeah, I’m in. Let’s do this thing.”

\--

“After a monumental _clusterfuck_ of a week, I think we’ve got a lot to celebrate tonight!” Billy crowed, climbing up onto the bar stool on his knees and thrusting his drink into the air in a violent toast. The stool wobbled and Teddy grabbed his waist to steady him.

“How about you come down from there?” Teddy laughed, shaking his head to ward off the lightheadedness from their unexpected proximity. _Figures, he’s impossibly cute even when hammered, that’s my Billy._ “You’re going to get us kicked out.”

_My...Billy? Uh oh._

“Are you listening to this guy?” Billy clacked glasses with a punch-drunk-laughing Tommy and drank deeply, giving Teddy an irate look and shaking himself free of Teddy’s hands. “This dude wins the fucking ‘Grand Prix du Prince de Monaco’—” he made giant, mocking air quotations to which Teddy started barking laughing, “—on a fucking behemoth of a horse in the tiniest arena on the tour and now he’s acting like we don’t have anything to celebrate! You know what else? I fucking _won_ the Prix SBM even after somebody tried to actually _poison_ my goddamn horse yesterday. And if that’s not an excuse to drink myself under the table, I don’t know what is.”

Teddy felt an uneasy pang at Billy’s words. When Billy had raged about the Rhodey debacle over their first round of drinks, Teddy had no doubt in his mind that Greg was responsible in some way. It didn't matter who had actually done the deed, and all the skulking around and odd vibes he had been getting from his stablemates in the last few weeks could have placed the blame on any of them. But without proof, Teddy couldn't do a thing about it either, which infuriated him beyond comprehension.

The question that stood out in Teddy’s mind was that if Greg was fucking with Billy regardless of whether they were actually together or not, then what was Teddy still _waiting_ for?

Cassie pulled Billy down from the stool, a martini in one hand, and looked at him very solemnly. “Billy, I would really like to stay out tonight, so please, hold it together.” She giggled then, betraying her tipsiness, and they clasped hands, pressing their foreheads together affectionately. Teddy felt the slightest twinge of jealousy at the ease with which Billy moved around Cassie, a far cry from the skittish, hand-wringing mess Billy normally was in his presence.

“Hey guys, I got us a VIP table. Someone wanna help Billy out?” Eli came up behind them, gesturing towards a section of the swanky Monte-Carlo nightclub that was sunk into a lagoon and lit a glowing blue. Billy clung to Nate, who had volunteered to assist Billy to their table, and nodded cheerily at the bouncers as they unclipped the velvet rope to let the group past.

“Eli, you win teammate of the year!” Billy patted Eli’s chest as he staggered past him onto the curved black leather couch, and smiled gleefully. “Hey! Bottle service on me. Grey Goose for _everyone_!”

Tommy cheered and high-fived him. After everyone had settled in and they had popped open the magnum bottle of vodka, Cassie tangled herself up in Nate and dragged him out to the dance floor. Kate and Tommy followed suit, leaving Eli to look over at Billy and Teddy with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yo, I am so over seventh wheeling, so I am gonna go out there and do my thing, okay? See you dudes later.”

Teddy nodded and waved him off, getting up to pour himself another shot at the table.

“Dance! We’re dancing too!” Billy bounced on the couch and grabbed the hem of Teddy’s shirt to pull him close, his face dangerously close to Teddy’s groin. “Take me dancing, Teddy.”

“Uhh, I don't think so.” Teddy flushed bright red, the bottle of Grey Goose in one hand and a half-filled glass in the other, as Billy pouted and rested his cheek against the thigh of his jeans. _Oh my God, way too cute._ He felt his arousal stir and scolded himself mentally. _Stop, Billy is drunk off his ass right now. Do. Not. Engage._

“It's just dancing,” Billy whined. “Just dancing, I promise.”

“You're too drunk to do anything else right now,” Teddy chastised him. “Arguably too drunk to dance, even.”

“Pleeeeeease.”

Teddy wasn’t sure if he agreed to dance so that Billy wouldn’t make a scene, or if it was because he ached just as badly to hold Billy on the dance floor. But when Billy was in his arms, pulsating against him to the beat of the music, he forgot everything but the feeling of Billy’s lips on his neck and the insistent, urgent gyrating of his body.

The heated crowd on all sides drew them closer together as the tempo swelled, and Teddy skimmed his hands down Billy’s sides to grip his hips hard, pressing his forehead against Billy’s so that their panting breaths mingled. Billy’s lips were parted, a bead of sweat on the curved bow, his eyes half-lidded from the alcohol or from lust, Teddy did not know.

Teddy was drowning in how badly he wanted to take Billy right then and there. He kissed along Billy’s neck and slid a hand down to cup his ass, pulling Billy closer to feel his hardening erection. The dark-haired boy gasped, and Teddy grazed his teeth over slick skin as Billy ground against him, their bodies impossibly flush.

“I want you,” Teddy half-groaned into Billy’s ear.

And all at once, the pressure was relieved and Billy was gone, slipped through the crowd. Teddy frowned as he searched for Billy in a sea of colorful, undulating bodies, the blood rapidly cooling in his veins.

_Fuck, payback’s a bitch I guess._

Teddy waded his way through the crowd, finally catching sight of Billy frantically making his way back to their table. He was too far away to see the other boy’s expression, but the sinking feeling in his stomach was foreboding, and it felt like ages before he finally pushed through the throng of people and arrived at their bottle of Grey Goose and the scatter of crystal glasses on top of the polished ebony table.

“Hey.” Teddy sat down next to Billy, who had curled up on the couch with his knees drawn to his chest, the glass cradled in his hands reflecting blue light.

“Hey, it’s you.” Billy hiccuped and knocked back his drink, then looked up at Teddy, dewy-eyed. “You know what my problem is with you?”

Teddy shook his head, his eyes drawn to the vivid flush on Billy’s neck that wasn’t there before they had danced. “Tell me.”

“I like everything about you, but you fucking _terrify_ me.” Billy tipped another shot of vodka into his glass and frowned. “I want to be with you, but every time I get close to you, something bad happens. I can’t shake the feeling that bad things are just going to keep happening, and it kills me because...I think I want you more than I want to win this tour. I think I want you more than I’ve ever wanted _anything_.” His eyes watered then, and he downed the shot quickly, slamming the glass back onto the table, his hands quivering. “I don’t know what to do, Teddy. What should we do?”

Something in Billy’s voice, hidden under the heaviness of liquor, made Teddy’s heart break. He opened his mouth and closed it again, speechless, a twisting knife in his gut.

“I don’t know, Billy,” was all Teddy could finally muster, after a long silence filled with synth and thumping bass.

“Yeah,” Billy said softly, his eyes red-rimmed and glistening. “This is probably never going to work out, is it?”

A million thoughts raced through Teddy’s mind, and he fought the overwhelming urge to scoop Billy up in his arms, tell him how much he cared about him— _lust, like, love, whatever fucking word there is for this feeling_ —and make the rest of the world disappear.

“Let’s get out of here.” Teddy stood abruptly, turning to hold out his hand to Billy. “I mean it. You and me, we’re gonna figure this out, but we’re not going to find the answers here.”

Billy blinked back tears and looked up at him owlishly. “What?”

“Just come with me.”

\--

By the time they had made it back to the hotel, the thick fog of intoxication had begun to recede, slowly being replaced by an insistent pounding in Billy’s head. He dangled his feet in the water at the edge of the rooftop lagoon pool, watching Teddy’s powerful shoulders as he swam back and forth across from him. Billy had no idea what time it was, but the entire lagoon was empty save for him and Teddy, and almost eerily silent. The surface of the water, crystal clear, was dappled by the reflections of city lights.

He poked his cheek experimentally. _Can I feel that? Sort of? I guess that's an improvement. Fuck, what the hell did I say to Teddy back there?_

What Billy _could_ remember was bathed in a blue glow—having way too much Grey Goose, dancing with Teddy, the blond boy’s lips leaving a trail of kisses down his neck, his breath heated, wanting, thick with lust.

_There's that lurching feeling again. Stop that body, stop it stop it stop_ —

Teddy swam up to him then, resting his forearms on the edge of the pool and looking up at him concernedly.

“How are you feeling? Better?”

Billy nodded, running a hand through his hair nervously and gripping the tile ledge with his other hand to keep from falling in. “So...how did we get here?”

Teddy frowned and reached up to pinch Billy’s cheek lightly. “Oof, you're worse off than I thought. Well, we walked back here from the club—”

Billy laughed and shook his head, swatting Teddy’s hand away. “No, no, I remember _that_ part...I mean like, you and me. How did we get to this...whatever it is we’re doing. I keep calling it a _whatever it is_ , and I'm not sure I want to anymore.”

Teddy pursed his lips and looked pensive. “Hey, if you're feeling any less smashed, you should really get into this pool. There's sand on the bottom and we’re on a fucking roof, and it's like, one of the top ten coolest things I've seen on this tour.”

“If I get in, will you answer my question?” Billy gave him a wry smile and pulled off his shirt, which was more difficult than he anticipated, complicated by half-drunk dizziness. He flushed as he finally got it off and realized that Teddy was watching him intently, suddenly sheepish as he kicked off his shorts. When he was down to his grey boxer briefs, he lifted himself off the ledge with a grunt and slid into the pool, gasping at the rush of cool water.

And then Teddy was there, looping his arms lightly around Billy’s waist, the feel of bare skin on skin electrifying. Billy felt drunk all over again and gripped Teddy’s biceps to steady himself, savoring the feeling of sand between his toes as he caught his breath.

“If you're not afraid of Greg, then I can be brave too,” Teddy murmured into Billy’s hair, his voice muffled and small. “But I can't promise that bad things won't keep happening. Believe me, I tried, Billy, I tried so hard to protect you from him, maybe I even hurt you _because_ I wanted to keep him away from you. But I’m not as strong as I thought I was, and Greg is finding ways to get to you anyway, and it’s _all my fault_.”

All at once Billy remembered what he had said to Teddy in the club, and his flush grew a deeper crimson. He nodded silently and slipped his arms under Teddy's to pull him close.

“It’s not your fault, and you don’t have to protect me.” Billy pressed a burning cheek to the cool skin of Teddy’s chest and blew out a sigh. “I can have staff watching Genosha horses 24 hours a day, and Greg wouldn't dare do what he did in Cannes again or the stewards would definitely get suspicious. I’ll be okay, I promise, so don’t worry about me.”

Billy felt Teddy let out a shuddering breath, as if he had been holding it in all night. “Billy, I don't know what Greg might do from here on out, or what we can even do about it, but...you should know that I meant what I said earlier. I want you. Fuck, I’ve wanted you ever since I overheard you talking smack about me to Cassie in Mexico City.” He laughed a little then, despite himself. “And it doesn’t have to be more complicated than that, not anymore.”

“So are you saying that you want us to be together, for real?”

Billy couldn’t stop the words before they rushed out of his mouth, and he panicked as they hung delicately in the air between them. He searched Teddy’s face and found fear and uncertainty there that matched his own.

But then Teddy smiled, a slow, smoldering grin that seemed to hold so many emotions at once. He nodded and looked at Billy, his eyes filled with mirth.

“Yeah, I do.”

All Billy could think of to do in response was to pounce on Teddy with a jubilant cry, pressing his lips gleefully against Teddy’s and toppling them both over into the water with a resounding splash. When they both resurfaced, sputtering and laughing, Teddy reached out to grab Billy by the waist and pull him close once again. It was in that moment that it finally hit Billy that Teddy was half-naked, his body glistening wet, and _hard_.

_Has he been hard this entire time and I literally didn't notice of course he has Billy you moron you are both mostly naked and alone in a sexy rooftop lagoon pool in fucking Monaco what is wrong with you_ —

Teddy looked flustered as he leaned in to whisper hotly into Billy’s ear, “So does this mean that we can pick up where we left off in the club?”

Billy blushed crimson and nodded, swallowing audibly, feeling that familiar heat roiling low in his abdomen.

Then Teddy’s hands went roaming, dipping below the waist-deep water to flirt with the sharp curves of Billy’s bare hips. His fingers left trails of wildfire on Billy’s skin, unbearably hot despite the cool moving water, and Billy shivered, soft sounds of anticipation escaping his parted lips.

“How can you be so impossibly cute and sexy at the same time?” Teddy’s voice was husky, tight with excitement. “I wanted to rip your clothes off with you dancing on me like that earlier.”

Billy’s response came out as nothing but a strangled moan, feeling himself become _painfully_ hard at Teddy’s words, his thoughts barely coherent— _so turned on, oh my God, fuck, fuck, too fucking hot_ —his arousal at a fever pitch. He pulled Teddy down hastily for a kiss to hide his sudden self-consciousness, and Teddy’s tongue stroked deep into Billy’s mouth, brand-hot and slick. Billy’s body thrummed with desire as he wrapped his lips around Teddy’s tongue and sucked lightly, experimentally. Teddy made a choking noise and inhaled sharply, breaking the kiss and giving Billy an astonished look so heavy with unconcealed, brazen _want_ that it sent shockwaves straight to Billy’s cock, uncomfortably tight in its wet fabric prison.

“ _Fuck_ , Billy.” Teddy pushed them back against the wall of the pool, capturing Billy’s lips again roughly, and Billy gasped into Teddy’s mouth as his bare skin contacted the cool tile. Then Teddy’s hands were on his ass, gripping under and _lifting_ him until Billy’s legs came up to wrap around Teddy’s waist, his ankles locking at the small of Teddy’s back. Billy surged against him, the water buoying his movements, and he could feel the rock-hard length of Teddy’s erection pressing into his own through the thin fabric that was still plastered painfully to his skin. Billy hissed, seeing stars, as their bodies ebbed with the water and his cock grazed against Teddy’s, creating delicious friction— _fuck that feels so fucking good, how is this even possible_ —and he bit down on Teddy’s perfect, sculpted shoulder to stifle his sob of pleasure.

Teddy groaned, his lips searing and wet on Billy’s neck, and rocked him against the tile, one hand coming up to grip the ledge of the pool, the other cupping Billy’s ass to keep their slick, sliding bodies flush. Billy could only cling to Teddy’s shoulders and mewl helplessly.

“Teddy...Teddy, wait,” Billy panted, struggling weakly.

Teddy drew back quickly, looking at Billy with sudden concern. “Did I do something you didn't like?”

“No, no, you're amazing, God, so fucking amazing...but I want to uh, _touch_ you, for real, and we can't do it here—” Billy felt his cheeks burning as he spoke.

“Do you want to head back to my room?” Teddy’s voice was thick, strained, and he kissed lightly behind Billy’s ear, nuzzling the heated skin there affectionately.

“No...I have a better idea.”

And that was how Billy came to be pushing Teddy down onto the marine blue sheets of a teakwood daybed in a lavish teal-and-white striped pool cabana, their clothes thrown carelessly onto a lounge chair across from a glass table topped with an unopened bottle of Cristal.

“Wha—how?” Teddy laughed in disbelief, as Billy checked to make sure that the heavy white curtains were secured shut.

“Oh, I have my connections.” Billy gave him a coy smile, making his way over to the daybed— _walk, don’t run, moron_ —and settling himself on the end of the mattress. “Old money legacy, remember?”

The laughter died on his lips as he turned to face Teddy, who was reclining on the daybed on top of a towel, his boxers still wet and clinging to his muscular legs, unable to hide the half-mast bulge between them. Billy’s mouth went dry and he felt his arousal stir anew.

Billy shifted over on the bed to slink on all fours between Teddy’s legs— _okay Billy, you can do this, get it together_ —the gentle sway of his hips as he did so suggestive, inviting. The look on Teddy’s face looked caught between amusement and _hunger_ , his mouth open and his blue eyes full of racy promises, as Billy planted his hands on either side of Teddy’s hips and leaned down to kiss him eagerly.

As they kissed, Billy leaned his weight onto one hand to brush the fingers of his freed hand against Teddy’s abdomen, as well-muscled as the rest of him, skin burnished gold from the sun. His fingers quickly traveled downwards to trace lightly over the outline of Teddy’s erection, once again a magnificent tent in the still-wet fabric of his boxers.

Teddy tore away from the kiss in surprise, groaning and arching up against Billy’s hand, and Billy sat back on his heels, his gaze intent on the half-naked, writhing blond beneath him. He felt his own cock jerk as he contemplated what he wanted to do next— _and don’t act like you haven’t fantasized about doing this to Teddy a thousand times_ —and slipped a thumb under the elastic of Teddy’s boxers, daring himself, wanting, needing, _terrified_. In one swift motion, he grabbed the waistband and pulled it down Teddy’s thighs, watching Teddy’s erection bob free and stand proudly, rising up from thick blond curls, head already flushed dark red and swollen. It was different than his own, Billy mused, uncut, longer, maybe not quite as thick. Teddy kicked his boxers off with a nervous chuckle, never taking his eyes off of Billy.

Billy tossed Teddy’s sodden boxers to the corner of the cabana and licked his lips in anticipation, biting his bottom lip to still his nerves. He blew out an anxious sigh and nodded, then leaned down and brushed his wet lips lightly against the head of Teddy’s cock. Teddy hissed softly through his teeth, and Billy darted his tongue out to lick at the pearl of pre-come at the tip, then worked his lips down around the head, sucking lightly, his tongue swirling gentle circles.

“Holy _FUCK!”_ came the staggering cry from Teddy’s mouth, a choking sob. His hands came up to tangle themselves into Billy’s dark hair, clutching desperately. Billy relished the vocalization of Teddy’s pleasure, and every sound Teddy made as he took him deeper into his mouth, filling his throat, was thrilling, maddening, utterly _erotic_.

Billy dragged his tongue along the underside of Teddy’s cock as he bobbed up and down slowly to start, but then Teddy was gripping his head hard, his hips fucking up into Billy’s mouth, his breath coming in ragged pants. Billy was _so unbelievably turned on_ , his body ablaze, and he decided that he could _come_ from getting face-fucked alone, drunk on the thick, heady scent of Teddy all around him. Teddy’s thrusting grew rough, insistent, and Billy dug his nails into Teddy’s thighs, tears forming in the corners of his eyes from the effort.

“Billy, I’m, _fuck_ —” Teddy bucked his hips up off the bed hard, his body trembling violently as he came, filling Billy’s mouth with salty, bitter heat. Billy swallowed it all, lips moving to suck him clean as Teddy convulsed.

Billy rocked back onto his heels when he was finished, a look of bewilderment on his face, the taste of Teddy still sour on his tongue. _We did that..._ I _did that. I made Teddy come in my fucking mouth and I’m so turned on I might actually die._ His cock strained madly against the now-dry fabric of his boxer briefs, and Billy felt like he was incinerating in the tiny cabana, the air around them heavy with the scent of sweat and sex.

“God, how are you even _real,”_ Teddy groaned, splayed against the pillows, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Billy laughed. “You’re welcome,” he murmured, and flopped down next to Teddy, eyes on the teal-and-white striped ceiling.

Teddy turned to look at him then, his gaze moving quickly from Billy’s face down to his still-hard cock. Billy watched as he blinked sweat out of his eyes and grinned wolfishly. “Your turn.”

“Wait, wha—” Billy barely had time to protest before Teddy was on top of him, kissing him— _can he taste himself on me?_ —and he kicked off his underwear hastily. Teddy kissed down his belly playfully, his blue eyes teasing, taking his sweet, aching time until he finally pressed his lips to the tip of Billy’s cock, thick and cut, and Billy gasped with a sudden paroxysm of _sensation_.

Coherent thoughts failed Billy as Teddy swirled his tongue around the head of his cock, so sensitive, so concentrated that it was almost painful. He hissed, completely overwhelmed, but then Teddy moved down to wrap his lips around Billy’s shaft, and all at once there was a rush of wet heat, Teddy’s tongue flattening to envelop his cock, all slick friction and pressure. Billy was drunk on pleasure, overcome by sheer sensation, and he was sobbing, scrabbling at the sheets to hold on to something, _anything_. He thrust into Teddy’s mouth, making a strangled noise as his head hit the back of Teddy’s throat, and the focused pleasure of the contact tipped him from riding the wave straight into drowning. A tight, gripping feeling seized him deep in his belly, and Billy gasped.

_“I’m com_ — _”_ he half-managed to choke, before the feeling overflowed out of him and he was coming, sweet hot release, _into Teddy’s mouth_ , excited by the thought before going blank-white from climax.

Billy collapsed against the pillows, chest heaving, his body languid. Teddy kissed his sweat-soaked neck, curling around him and draping his arm across Billy’s waist— _his, I’m his, and he’s mine_ —almost possessively. Billy smiled weakly and turned to press his lips to Teddy’s.

“Thank you,” he murmured, his eyelids heavy, lashes fluttering against his cheeks.

Teddy grunted in reply, nestled tightly against him with his face buried in Billy’s shoulder, their naked bodies flush and melded.

Billy closed his eyes and sighed, lulled by the soft sounds of lapping water and Teddy’s steady breathing. This, he thought, was something Greg could never take away from him, even if he tried.

\--

“Oh, _shit!”_

Billy awoke with a start, snatching his phone off the glass table next to the daybed, blinking back sleep as he scrolled through a throng of increasingly urgent messages, most of them from Cassie.

> Holy shit dude did you die? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU? I’m literally going to call the fucking police if I don’t hear from you in the next five minutes

“Oh my God, Teddy, we fell asleep, we are so dead, we are dead as fuck.” Billy scrambled off the daybed, searching frantically for his underwear, finding them and tugging them up his legs, diving under the chair for his pants. Teddy stirred and rolled over onto one elbow, staring blearily at Billy.

“Dude, what the fuck—”

“I think Cassie called the police because she thought I was missing, what the fuck bitch, seriously,” Billy explained, frenzied, punching her address book entry in a panic. It rang twice, and suddenly Cassie was screaming into the phone. Billy winced, the pounding in his head intensifying.

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD.”

“Please tell me you didn’t actually call the police,” Billy begged, yanking on his pants. “I’m with Teddy, I can be up at your room in like ten minutes.”

“No, I didn’t actually call the police because Nate talked me out of it and reasoned that you were probably with Teddy, but come the fuck on Billy, you have to _tell_ me before you just disappear like that.”

“I know, I’m sorry, thanks for not calling the police. I’ll see you at breakfast, I promise.” Billy hung up then, uninterested in being yelled at any further, and tossed Teddy’s boxers onto the bed. “Hey, we’re in the clear, but you better get dressed. We gotta get out of here before Granddad decides he wants some poolside time.”

Teddy wrinkled his nose. “Oh, _gross_.” And then he was laughing, pulling his boxers on and scooting to the edge of the mattress. “He’s not gonna want to be in here after...uh.... _that_.”

Billy shrugged on his shirt and shuddered. “Oh, _no_ , no, I didn’t want to think about that at all. Well, hopefully it gets uh...cleaned up before then.” He looked over at Teddy, and deciding that he was sufficiently clothed, flung the heavy white curtains open. Intense sunlight poured into the cabana, and Billy hissed in pain. _Hungover, yup, hungover as fuck._

“Hey, come here real quick.” Teddy gestured to him, arms open. Billy’s panic softened for a moment, and he curled up into Teddy’s arms, blowing out a tense sigh. Teddy leaned down and planted a quick kiss on Billy’s lips, sweet and chaste, grinning widely at him afterwards. “Better?”

Billy nodded, and for an unfamiliar moment his mind felt _quiet_ , the relentless storm of anxious thoughts that usually churned there strangely absent. He looked up at Teddy and smiled, equal parts wonder and gratitude.

Then the moment passed and Billy shook the feeling away, laughing as he pushed Teddy out of the cabana bodily despite the blond boy’s mock protests.

“Come on! They’re waiting for us at breakfast.”

Their pinky fingers brushed as they walked back up to the hotel, the most they dared in the growing bustle of people around them. Billy looked up at Teddy— _mine, he’s mine_ —his heartbeat quickening, and Teddy’s resounding smile was as bright as the morning sun.


End file.
